Nightmare
by DevilPup
Summary: AU.. as if i would write anything else... Tristan's life seems to be a living Nightmare. Can Rory help him, or will she find herself hurt and alone in the end? Trory. Finished.
1. Prologue

-1So, I was proposition with writing a story by Lacking Lime. Then, I came across the song Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace. Here is the out come. I don't think this what Clara ment... but, this is what you got. And I mostly have it planned out, well, the first 5 chapters or so, not sure how its gonna end.  
Enjoy!

Nightmare  
By Bree  
An angsty Trory

The serene silence engulfing the outer walls of the lavish home, was shattered as the persistent screaming rang out through the opening door. The words spilled out into the pristine beauty that hide the house behind it. He didn't stop to look at it though, he was too busy storming away from the woman screaming behind him. As the stars twinkled in the deep blue sky, and the trees swayed softly in the lazy breeze, he clashed violently against it's beautiful painting.

Her words echoed through the air as she screamed out after him, "Come back here! Young man, now! If you don't come back right now, you will surely be sorry! Tristan Janlen DuGrey !" But her words were futile as he made his way to his car. The _Charger_'s engine roared as he sped down the driveway.

"What am I going to do with that boy?" The woman asked mournfully.

"Why must you bother with him, Teresa?" It was clear from the way he spoke, this man was pompous , and self centered. He'd spoke with an air of self righteousness.

"If I don't who will?" She sighed, already knowing the words that will flow from the pompous mouth.

"Send him to his father, the ungrateful little-"

"He's still my nephew, so watch it."

"Exactly. _Nephew_. Not son. You have no obligation to him. Besides he never listens to a word we say!"

"He listens to me. Mostly." She shivered slightly as the breeze blew past her, ruffling the light summer dress she had on.

"He won't listen to his own parents, so why must we have to deal with him? I say you send him off to Military School!"

"Oh, here we go again." She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. She walked away from him.

He followed, preaching his idea, for what seemed like the hundredth time to Teresa . "I went to Military School, and it whipped me into shape! I say it was the best thing to ever happen to me."

She stopped and turned, cocking an eyebrow, "Oh really?" She smirked lightly, "And why, pray tell , is that?"

"I realized my father was serious, and he brought me home, once I realized it." He said proudly. She started laughing.

"Charles, dear, you were knocked unconscious , and the school begged your parents to bring you home. Your father only did it because the school was willing to do anything, and you begged him for mercy." She turned and started walking again. "No, I think I'll save Military School for a last resort. He's still hurting. We just have to let him... be him. He'll come around eventually. But for now, you need to stay off his case. Which reminds me!" She grew angry and turned back to face her husband. "Why must you start with him? What was it now? Did you find another bimbo in his bed?"

"As a matter of fact, no. I found drugs in his room. You blame me for not giving a damn about the boy, but I seem to be the only one looking out for him rather than babying him!"

Her face grew pale and somber. "What kind?"

"What do you think?" He sighed. "I know he's hurting, but he's going to lose it. Between the girls, the drinking and partying, the suspensions, and now the drugs... I see him going down the path of Kenny, and I can't sit back and watch." He looked upset. Teresa drew him into her arms. "I know. But we won't let him. Let's wait and see how things play out. I need you to be on my side in this, okay ? We still need to tell him about..." She trailed off.

"I know. I know. How about we make a deal, one more thing. Just one more, and he's gone. I think it would be good for him. He's tough, conceited, and he can back everything up. He'd fit right in." Teresa nodded in resignation. She knew she couldn't deny the fact that he'd been getting worse. But she was never sure whether or not to believe her husband. She never knew if he genuinely cared for her nephews or if he simply pretended for her sake. Thinking he cared made it a lot easier to see his point and be swayed.

As Tristan sped of into the night, one thought was on his mind, losing control. Lucky for him, Madeline was having a party. Ever since _it_ happened, his life had been a complete downward spiral. One wrong thing after another. He knew he should listen to his aunt and uncle, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. But for now all his problems would be pushed away. He'd go and find his slut of a girlfriend Summer and screw her until she passed out, then hook up with someone else. Maybe it was the drugs beginning to work their way through his system, he didn't know. All he knew was he needed to let go.

Pulling up to the outlandish house lined with the latest models, he smirked. If there was one moment he had control, it was when he was around the pea brains of Chilton. They worshiped him like the God he was, as many a girl had cried out while reaching a sexual euphoria thanks to him, even if he wasn't present.

In the past year, he'd gotten worse with the partying and sleeping around. Not that any of the girls were complaining, just the guys getting sloppy seconds. Numerous girls had claimed to have slept with him or gone down on him, even if they hadn't. You weren't worthy of being screwed if Tristan hadn't fucked you. It also set you apart from the 'Mary's'. Although, in actuality , the only Mary's in the school were Paris and Rory. They were already in their own league.

Tristan entered the party, stealing a freshly opened, and I mean the poor kid just opened it, beer from some poor freshman. Strobe lights ran rampant across the kids dancing to the techno beat blasting through the speaker. Bottles, cans, and cups littered every possible surface. Tristan's eyes scanned the crowd quickly. He was a little surprised to see Paris standing there, but he as he thought about it, he really wasn't. Madeline was one of her lackies, and Paris always had to make sure nothing went wrong, ever. So really, thinking about it, it was more of surprise he'd never seen her there before.

Shaking his head clear of the thoughts, he realized that didn't really matter much to him. He was looking for Summer. He was beginning to forget what happened earlier in the day, and now all he cared about was getting some. He pushed through the kids, forcing himself into the kitchen. He needed a new drink first. He grabbed the bottle of vodka sitting on the counter and a can of Coke. It was still early, he'd get wasted later. Right now, he wanted Summer. His drug induced mind realized how her name rhymed with Cummer.

Exiting the kitchen again, he started in one room looking for her. After searching the whole party, he hadn't seen her yet. Rage started to fill him as a drunken freshman commented on Austin getting some ass. Austin was Summer's current indiscretion. They were together, but they were always sleeping with this one, or that one. In a janitor's closet or in someone else's bed. It never really mattered to them. However, when he said jump, she was supposed to be there to jump. So, naturally , -well as naturally as the vodka and cocaine in his system would allow- he was upset, beyond pissed. She was supposed to be ready and waiting, not screwing someone else. Although, he'd admit, occasionally , he'd told her to go screw someone else before him. But tonight, he hadn't. He told her he'd be looking for her.

He was wildly throwing open doors to bedrooms. No one else seemed to be screwing yet. _Just Summer_ he thought bitterly. He opened one door, and saw Rory sitting on the bed reading.

"Mary?" He was shocked, he really was. Her head had snapped up to look up at the intruder.

Flatly, not at all rudely, she replied, "Oh, hi Tristan."

"What are you doing here?" His earlier rage seemed to seep from him as the words flowed.

"I came to the party, but I was getting a headache, so Madeline sent me up here. We're supposed to be having a sleep over after most people leave. Then clean up in the morning..." She noticed he'd been moving closer to the bed, and was now standing next to it, arms casually crossed over his chest.

"Sounds like fun. Is that why Paris is here?"

"Yup. Do you really expect her to be here of free will?" Rory laughed, and he joined in lightly. A small silence elapsed around the two. "What about you? Why are you up here?" The anger and rage all came rushing back.

"Looking for my slut, you know where she is?" He spit out angrily .

"Summer?" She asked flinching at his words slightly. He nodded impatiently. "Across the hall." He was scaring her. Can you say bipolar?

Tristan stormed out of the room and threw open the parallel one. Rory heard a muffled, 'What the fuck?' and a small scream, followed by a sick sounding crunch, before finally, Austin was thrown into Madeline's room on his back. Rory shrieked slightly. She heard Summer snap at Tristan, and then a muffled scream of surprise. She couldn't hear anything, then the door slammed. She heard a bed slamming into a wall pretty roughly. By now, Austin had scampered out of the room.

Rory stayed there, terrified for almost an hour. She was afraid of what was on the other side of the locked door. She had closed and locked Madeline's door. Finally, she grew the courage to leave the room, but when she did, a very disoriented Tristan stumbled out of the room as well.

"Want a go, Mary?" He asked passing her. he was smirking evilly, and when she peeked into the room he'd exited, Summer was passed out on the bed. Something in the way he had been looking at her freaked her. He was obviously drunk, but she wasn't so sure about the drugs. Although, when she that Summer had obviously been held down while they were... she grew angry.

"Tristan!" She yelled after. He stopped and looked back at her, questioning her with a look. "What gives you the right to do that?" She screamed. He smirked, but not his usual, 'I know you want me' smirk. It was an angry smirk.

"Do what, Mary?"

"Force her like that!" He'd walked closer to her. The calm casual boy that stood before her earlier, clearly gone.

"What? Like this?" He grabbed her and forced her against the wall. He held her hips pinned to the wall.

"You- You're an animal!"

"So I've been told, before."

"What's wrong with you?" She screamed at him. He laughed her off and walked away. Rory jumped when a soft voice behind her spoke up.

"He wasn't always like that. He's changed. That... that monster, it wasn't there until ... well, I don't know if it's my place." Summer looked sore, tired.

"Since when?" Rory was generally interested. What could make him change from carefree to careless so quickly.

_"It_ happened... I can't say what... and with that everything went out of control."

"Oh. But why does he... why is he so..."

"No one really knows. No one really cares either. I tried to help him. He doesn't think he has a problem. He wakes up and doesn't remember what happened." Summer looked uncomfortable now. "Well, I think I'm gonna go find Austin and leave." She made to leave.

"Why are you with him if he does this? If you like Austin?"

"Because he scares me." With that she walked down the stairs.

So, there is the first chapter of Nightmare... Next should be up asap. I need a beta too... so, please email me if interested. If you want to PM me, please include your email such as, for example, mine: dragonfaerie666 (at) yahoo . com. Email me there. Thanks! Review! 

Also, I'm curious to see what people think this story is about, cause when i had my boyfriend read it, he thought it was something completely different.. which is actually good because it will keep ya'll in suspense and give it a nice twist.


	2. Ch1 These Hallowed Halls

Tada! I had this done Friday, but ya know… it needed edited, which the lovely LoVe23, La, did! Thanks La! Finn says 'thanks, Love.' I've already got half the third chapter written. But, bout this chapter: Its not as long as I would have liked, but they get longer, and just to let you know… this isn't even half way into the plot yet… I forsee at _least_ 10-15 chapters. And that's prolly just up to the climax of the story. Actually this isn't even a 16th into the plot.

Thanks to all those who reviewed! Some of ya'll were close to grasping at straws…

Anyway: For anyone confused about Tristan living with his aunt and uncle: It will be explained in the third or fourth chapter.. and your supposed to be confused… I like confusing you!

Well, here's the next chapter, enjoy. PS, reviews make my day… they're like my drug… I can't ever get enough…

Bree

Recap

_"He wasn't always like that. He's changed. That... that monster, it wasn't there until ... well, I don't know if it's my place." Summer looked sore, tired._

_"Since when?" Rory was generally interested. What could make him change from carefree to careless so quickly._

"_It happened...I can't say what...and with that everything went out of _

_control."_

_"Oh. But why does he... why is he so..."_

_"No one really knows. No one really cares either. I tried to help him. He doesn't think he has a problem. He wakes up and doesn't remember what happened." Summer looked uncomfortable now. "Well, I think I'm gonna go find Austin and leave." She made to leave._

_"Why are you with him if he does this? If you like Austin?"_

_"Because he scares me." With that she walked down the stairs._

Chapter 1: These Hallowed Halls

After stumbling away from Mary, Tristan headed to the kitchen for something to drink. Sex takes a lot out of you, especially when your partner's struggling. For the rest of the night, he'd drunk mass amounts of alcohol, getting very, very drunk. It was a miracle he didn't kill himself or someone else driving home at the high speed he was. Wait, what am I saying?

90 is not high at all.

Teresa had been up for awhile, waiting for him to come home. When she heard the engine roar up the driveway and the tires burn as he skidded to a halt, her breath caught as she tried to fight back tears. The memories were still all too fresh in her mind. As Tristan stumbled into the house, she stood to help him. Telling him would have to wait.

"Come on." She led him upstairs to his room. He awkwardly ran past her, into the bathroom to throw up. He was normally able to hold his liquor, but that wasn't why he was vomiting. Teresa rubbed his back soothingly. "It's okay, I'm here, TJ." She held him as he started to cry. This wasn't new for them. When his tears began to fall, she thought he already knew what she needed to tell him.

As she pulled his covers over his body, she leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Good night, Tris."

"Night mom. I love you." Teresa choked back the tears again.

"I love you, too, baby boy." She always pretended when he got like this.

Teresa and Tristan's mother, Victoria, were twins. They were to have completely separate names, but as luck would have it, they found a way. As kids they were known as Terri and Tori. Once they graduated college, though, society referred to them as Teresa and Victoria once more.

They were identical, and alike in so many ways. Teresa tried to handle things the way she knew Tori would have. If there was little difference, it might be easier for Tristan to adjust. Unfortunately, it seemed that he wasn't adjusting well at all. The only times when their similarities weren't painful for him were the nights like tonight.

Nights when he was so intoxicated, he didn't realize he was crying into his Aunt Terri's arms and not his mother's. He would call her mom, and she would try her best not to break down as she spoke to him.

When he woke up Sunday Morning, his head was pounding. He was definitely hung over. On his night stand were a glass of water, two Advil, and a vitamin. He smiled weakly. His aunt knew him too well. He sighed hoisting himself out of bed, having taken the Advil and vitamins. Making his way to the kitchen, he smelled pancakes.

Sitting down, he sighed again. "Morning, Mr. Tristan." The cook said with a smile. Tristan glanced up and noticed that he was new.

"Please, call me Tristan, and try not to be so cheery right now. _Way_ too hung over." The cook didn't reply, only kept cooking.

"Oh, cheery one this morning, I see!" His aunt said brightly. "Aww…come on! Smile, Tris!"

"That's just cruel." He smiled painfully as she ripped open the curtains on the backdoor.

"Don't get so drunk then, and maybe I won't be so mean!" She said sternly with a smile. He nodded and gave her a look that said 'Yeah, right!'

"Anything interesting happen yesterday?" She asked curiously, remembering the night before when he got home.

"I went to the party, that's all I remember." He replied, picking at the food the cook set in front of him.

"I wish you wouldn't get so drunk." She said, suddenly sounding sad.

"_Aunt Terri_..." Tristan sighed in warning. He did not want to get into this now. It was only breakfast. Teresa nodded in recognition of his wishes and closed the subject.

"I have some good news for you. Well, at least I hope you'll think its good news." There was a pregnant pause as Tristan waited for her to say whatever it was she had to say.

"Yes?" He finally asked.

"I'm…" She started, just as her husband walked in.

"Good Morning, all." Charles said walking in. Tristan sighed, again. He did that a lot during his conscious and coherent hours.

"Morning, honey." Terri said, smiling up at her husband.

"Morning, Mr. Charles." The cook greeted, as Tristan stayed quiet. He hated his uncle. He was always trying to get rid of him in one way or another. It always seemed that way to Tristan anyway.

"Good Morning, Tristan." He said with false enthusiasm.

"Who said it was good?" Tristan said placing a piece of pancake in his mouth, as his uncle glared at him.

"Well, had you not been hung over, it might be." Charles reprimanded.

"Go to hell." Tristan said, dropping his fork on his plate.

"Why would I want to visit your father?" Charles sneered.

"_Boys_." Teresa warned.

"Aunt Terri, I'm going back to bed." Tristan stood up, pushing his plate away.

"No! You're not!" Charles bellowed.

"Says who?" Tristan challenged him.

"I do." Charles said smugly.

"Since when do I listen to you?" Tristan smirked. He'd never listened to Charles.

He reminded him too much of his own father, only his uncle was always around.

"_Young man_." Charles said in warning.

"Yes, old fart?" Tristan said mockingly. Charles was 8 years Terri's senior. He was a junior associate of her father's when they'd met.

"You little…" Charles made to smack Tristan but he easily dodged it.

"Don't even try it. I don't think _Teresa_ can handle another family member in the hospital." He said bitterly.

Chuckling ruefully, "Aw, what? You're not afraid, are you Tristan?"

"I meant you, asshole!" Tristan yelled, then quickly turned and walked away from him.

He heard their voices, before he reached the stairs. His aunt was yelling at his uncle again. He hated causing problems between them.

It was just like his parents. His mother would defend him and fight with his father. His eyes began to get watery, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away.

He needed sleep, and lots of it.

Monday morning brought a wave of relief to Tristan. Although most would think he hated school, he didn't. At school, he was who he wanted to be. True, it was all a facade, but he lived for it. Living in the fantasy his fellow Chiltonites created was far better than the hell reality was. Of course, the dark, haunting halls and gloomy gothic architecture gave it an appearance of Hell at times.

He saw Rory standing at her locker, trying to open it. She seemed to be talking to it. She was weird like that. He walked up behind her as she spun her combination in again. He pounded the locker from over her shoulder. She jumped at both the sound and the popping the locker made when it popped open.

"Uh, thanks." She stuttered, not looking at him. She seemed scared, nervous.

"Everything okay, Mare?" He asked leaning against the locker next to hers.

"F-fine." She stuttered, as she gathered her books quickly, trying to make a hasty exit. He tried to look into her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him.

"Mary...?" He tilted her chin towards him. She shivered at the contact. When their eyes connected, he saw fear present in her eyes. He immediately dropped his hand from her chin.

"What are you scared of? What happened?" His first thoughts were Bagboy, her boyfriend, did something to her.

"N-nothing! Nothing's wrong. I'm just... tired and I haven't had any coffee." She said quickly, trying to hide her nervousness.

Tristan knew she was lying, she had an empty coffee cup in her hands. Tristan didn't get a chance to reply as she walked away quickly with Paris joining her.

After Rory had walked way, Summer approached him. She seemed hesitant. He knew that meant one of two things. She either had to tell him something, or he did something to her that he couldn't remember.

"What?" He asked as she looked at him.

"What did Rory say?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing. She seemed skittish. Something happened to her. I don't know what though. She seemed really scared." He said, as he looked away from her to watch Rory's retreating figure.

"_Of you_?" Summer asked a little too quickly. His head snapped back to face her and he looked her in the eye.

"Why would she be... what happened?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing. He instantly knew he'd done something while highly intoxicated.

"You were mad at me. She saw the before and after. You may have threatened her. She…" Tristan was already halfway down the hall. He needed to talk to her.

When he reached the class room, the bell rang, forcing him to wait. After the bell rang, signaling the end of class, she'd ran out of the room faster than lightening, with Paris right behind her.

Sitting down at lunch, he buried his head in his hands. Summer slid up to him. "Hey, babe." She said sweetly.

"Hi." He said shortly.

"Still didn't talk to _Mary_?" She said bitingly. She wasn't afraid of him when he was normal.

"What's it to _you_?" He asked with a reproaching glance.

"You're _my_ boyfriend." She chided, but was cut off from any further conversation, as Austin walked by and caught her attention. Unfortunately, Tristan caught her, seeing as she wasn't being too discreet.

"Then why are you fucking Austin?" He stormed away from the table. She cringed realizing her mistake, and watched helplessly as he ran off.

When they were younger, Summer was perfect for him. She was easy to get along with. When she was talking to him about things he didn't care about, she didn't care as long as he pretended to be listening. Summer was like him in a lot of ways. They may have fallen in love at some point, but if they had, it was long gone.

Tristan often thought Summer only stayed with him out of pity, not wanting to leave him in the 'state' or 'condition' he was in. He didn't realize how wrong he was. If he knew she stayed with him because she was scared, he might just lose it. He never remembered what he did, and after telling him the first time, she never had the guts to tell him again.

'If she didn't want to be with me, then why is she? Or if she does, why is she fucking Austin?' Shaking these thoughts out of his head, he made his way to the library. He'd seen the girls at lunch with Paris, but not Rory.

He headed to where he knew she usually was, and he'd been right. There she was, sitting at a back table, nose buried in a book. He walked up behind her, and leant over, to whisper in her ear. "Mary." She jumped slightly, and tensed quickly.

"Tristan." He took a seat next to her, and she made to stand up. He caught her wrist.

"_Mary_." He begged. She sat down again. "What's wrong? Why are you avoiding me?"

"I thought I always avoided you?" She asked with a small smile. Tristan nodded in agreement, smiling also.

"Yes. But why are you avoiding me _today_?" He asked lightly.

"I... You..." She stammered, unsure of what to say.

"I scared you. At the party, you were there. Am I right?" Rory nodded. "I must have been really drunk, I don't remember. I mean Summer's in one of her moods, so...I must have done something. I'm sorry I scared you." He said sincerely.

With wide eyes, Rory gasped, "You don't remember?"

"No... I usually don't." He said, looking away in embarrassment.

"Oh." She said, not really knowing how to react to that.

"_Why_? What did I do? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?" He said, noticing that she was unable to look at him.

"No, no. Besides, it's water under the bridge." She dismissed with a wave of her hand and a small smile playing on her lips.

"I never understood that phrase..." He said, his voice furrowing slightly.

"Me neither." She couldn't stop her smile from growing wider. He smiled back, happy to see her a little more relaxed in his presence. Everything would be alright for them for now.

Tristan was walking into his class after lunch. He spent all of lunch talking nonsense with Rory. He was actually on time, Rory chiding him to hurry up. He only complied since she was in his class. Summer caught them outside of the class. Rory suddenly remembered Saturday night, blanching a little.

"Tris...why don't we cut?" Summer said looking antsy.

"Uh, I was actually going to class." he smiled at her.

"Come on, since when do _you_ want to go to class?" She said, with a teasing laugh, hoping she could hide how nervous she was right now.

"Let's go get somethin' to eat. You didn't eat lunch." She said as she shot a glare at Rory.

"I'm going in, Tris." Rory said heading in. Tristan nodded.

"Summer, I'm going to class. You should, too. You love that class. Go." He gently pushed her towards her class. He walked in and sat down, seconds before the bell rang, right behind Rory.

After the first few minutes of class, a knock came at the door.

Tristan had been whispering to Rory, distracted by her coffee colored hair, while she tried to make him do his work.

"I'm the new student." Tristan's head snapped toward the voice. He immediately stood, taking long strides to the person.

"What are you doing here?" He asked walking closer, now taking smaller steps.

"I'm back, _little boy_." The boy smirked at him.

Tristan punched him in the jaw, and then proceeded to beat on him after he hit the floor. It took every single guy in the class to rip him off of the kid. Rory watched in mild horror, as Tristan beat the living shit out of the kid.

"Let me go! He doesn't deserve to be here!" Tristan was yelling. Finally, two of Tristan's real friends grabbed him and hauled him out of the room.

"Who's that other guy? I've never see them in class before." Rory asked Austin, who had helped pull Tristan off.

"Finn Morgan." Rory rolled her eyes. That answered her question. Seeing her roll her eyes, he smiled slightly. "He's a friend of Tristan's." He paused, until he saw her nod for him to continue.

"He's actually like his best friend. They've known each other since Finn moved here in 7th grade. He's never in class cause he's always drunk. He shows up in the winter months, though." Austin finished, as he watched for a reaction from Rory. She looked thoughtful as she looked at the spot Finn and Tristan had been standing just a while ago. It was only November.

"Mr. Medina, may I go to the bathroom?" She asked suddenly. He looked skeptical, but Rory was an honest student. He nodded and she grabbed the pass, slipping out of the room.

The boy Tristan had beaten had been taken to the nurse's office. Rory headed towards the bathroom when she heard raised voices.

"What the fuck? Why didn't you tell me?" It was Tristan. She hurried around the corner.

"Look, mate, it wasn't our place. Terri said she was gonna tell you, and to just keep an eye on things." She figured that must be Finn.

"So that's why you were actually in class, to baby sit me?" Tristan was still screaming.

"No. _Actually_, it was to beat the bloody hell out of the bastard, so _you_ wouldn't get in trouble." Finn said, trying to placate his friend.

"Yeah, well, a little forwarning would've been nice!" Tristan said, still angry, as he paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair.

"Terri said she was gonna tell you!" The Aussi, as Rory had finally identified his accent, cried out in exasperation.

"Did you really think I'd be laughing and having fun if that asshole got out of jail?" Tristan screamed in his face. Rory pulled back in shock at this revelation.

"Come on, mate, I tried. Summer tried. We thought she told you. If you weren't so wrapped up in Mary, you might have seen that!" Finn accused.

"Screw you, Finn! That bastard is out and now that I have to deal with him every fucking day, you're gonna throw Rory in my face? I thought you fuckin' knew me better than that!" Tristan said with renewed anger.

"I don't know you anymore! You're different! I know _that_! Even when I am drunk!" Finn said, unable to hold back his anger and concern for his friend.

"I am not!" Tristan yelled as his fist slammed into the wall they were standing next to.

The small gasp that escaped Rory's mouth rippled the into echoing silence. The halls had that haunted feeling once more, knowing they knew more than they should. The hallowed halls of Chilton knew more secrets than the DAR ladies did. Of course the halls knew the _truth_.

Tristan's eyes widened, as he turned to face her. He felt his whole world crumble around him as her face was filled with pity and sympathy. Two things he never wanted, especially not from one, Rory Gilmore.


	3. Ch2 Grave Truths

Oh my! I love this! I love your reviews! I dont recall who, but someone guessed the Tristan's dad killed his mother. _Well_, I wont say yes or no, but I'm really intrigued as to how you came up with that? Also, I'd just like to say, what is the point of finals? I took my english final yesterday... and it was sooo easy, and a complete waste of time. Although, looking back at my writing from WWA, and The Rain... compared to just a few chapters and such of thsi, and its masssively inproved, of course, La, helped with that with her awesome betaing! I'm glad ya'll liked Finn.--Completely random side note, does anyone else find it odd that Im from Jersey and say ya'll alot?-- He wasn't supposed to be in this originally, but when i had Tristan's friends pull him out, I had to come up with another character, and I _love_ Finn's character. Although, in the next few chappies Finny pooh will get his own drama... hehe.

BTW, no one b.tch about Rory being OOC in the last scene. I have my reasons... and for all those who can pick up on foreshadowing... there wasan importany hint last chapter for an upcoming one. Sorry, we just read Of Mice and Men and I'm really into the foreshadoing.right now.

Okay, An long enough, now onto the chapter! Oh, and please review, I had a horrible morning, my favorite teacher isn't coming back next year and my bro's gf is bleeding him dry for all he's worth and screwing around behind his back -while he's going crazy in Medical in the Marines-, sad when her best friend tells me this...

* * *

Recap

_"Did you really think I'd be laughing and having fun if that asshole got out of jail?" Tristan screamed in his face. Rory pulled back in shock at this revelation._

"_Come on, mate, I tried. Summer tried. We thought she told you. If you weren't so wrapped up in Mary, you might have seen that!" Finn accused._

"_Screw you, Finn! That bastard is out and now that I have to deal with him every fucking day, you're gonna throw Rory in my face? I thought you fuckin' knew me better than that!" Tristan said with renewed anger._

"_I don't know you anymore! You're different! I know that! Even when I am drunk!" Finn said, unable to hold back his anger and concern for his friend._

"_I am not!" Tristan yelled as his fist slammed into the wall they were standing next to._

_The small gasp that escaped Rory's mouth rippled into the echoing silence. The halls had that haunted feeling once more, knowing they knew more than they should. The hallowed halls of Chilton knew more secrets than the DAR ladies did. Of course the halls knew the truth._

_Tristan's eyes widened, as he turned to face her. He felt his whole world crumble around him as her face was filled with pity and sympathy. Two things he never wanted, especially not from one, Rory Gilmore._

Chapter 2: These Grave Truths

Tristan felt something come over him as the information registered. She had been listening to his conversation. What right did she have to do that? They weren't even friends.

The look on Tristan's face frightened Rory. She felt her whole body tense while thinking, '_I thought he was only like that when he was drunk.'_

"How long have you been there?" He demanded, through gritted teeth. The malice in his voice was not missed by either Rory or Finn.

She was so taken aback by his demeanor that her answer came out as a squeak. "Um, I... uh..." Tristan began walking closer.

"How much did you hear, Rory?" He grabbed her shoulders, looking her square in the eye. The sheer and utter fear in her eyes was present, but Tristan didn't seem to notice.

"Come on, mate, leave Miss Mary alone. She wasn't droppin' no eaves. Were you, Mary?" She shook her head no, not trusting her voice.

Tristan wasn't hearing Finn though. He was lost in Rory's big beautiful eyes, the eyes that were brimming with tears, her fright clearly evident. Tristan let go, completely shocked and confused by what he saw. She was scared of him. What was he doing? What was he becoming? How could he scare her like that? His Mary?

He backed away from them, still in a daze. He was looking at the ground.

"Tristan?" Rory asked, having come out of her own dazed state. "Are you okay?" Had he not been out of it, he would have been able to point out, how even after he scared the shit out of her, she was still being nice.

Since he was still clearly in a daze, and was unable to form normal speech, he simply began to shake his head "No." Although, whether it was in answer to her question or his reaction to her fear of him, he wasn't quite sure.

"Mate?" Finn questioned moving closer to him, but Tristan kept shaking his head, now looking at them. He quickly turned on his heal, and took off running down the hallway and out the doors. Finn was about to take off after him, but remembered Rory was with him. He turned to her and stuck out his hand. "Um, hello, love, I'm Finn."

"Rory, aka Mary." She replied shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, doll. Now, I have to go find Tristan. Only he's in one of two places, and his aunt is in New York. Care to help me track him down or are you too afraid of him?" He said to her in a serious tone.

"No, I'll help. But first, can you tell me what's going on?" She said looking him in the eye.

"Not really. Sorry, love, but it's not my place. It's Tristan's story to tell." He said apologetically.

"No, I respect that. You must be a true friend." She said, with a small smile.

"Yeah…something like that." Finn smiled. Suddenly, his face looked almost pained, and the smile turned into a lopsided frown. "I need a bloody drink!" He said in frustration, as he rubbed his hands over his face. Rory laughed at his outburst, more out of shock than out of humor.

"I need to get my stuff from class first." Rory stated, already walking back with Finn. Finn opted to wait outside, while Rory returned to class. She was unable to concentrate on the lecture, too busy thinking about all that had transpired in the last hour. She sat impatiently waiting for the bell to ring. Once it did, she grabbed her stuff as well as Tristan's. Finn didn't have anything with him, since he was only there to baby-sit. Once she had everything, she headed out of the room, and straight to Finn. "Let's go."

As they walked to their cars, Rory felt she had to ask where she was going. "Where am I going?"

"Well, love…do you mind cemeteries?" He said slowly.

"Uhm... I've never been to one." She answered honestly.

"Well that's good because you were going there either way. If I let you go to the other place, it may bring up questions that you don't need floating around that pretty little head of yours." Finn said with a smirk. It was similar to Tristan's, but whereas Tristan's smirks were almost leering, Finn's was more playful.

"_Fine_!" Rory over-dramatized, adding a huff for effect.

"Sorry, doll, but there's only room for one drama queen, and that's me!" He called before climbing into his big SUV. Rory got in her jeep and waited for Finn to pull up next to her. When he did, he quickly rolled down the passenger window to give her directions. "Go out of the back parking lot, and take a left, keep going straight until you see fewer businesses and homes. Make a right onto the gravel road. It leads to the cemetery. It's all the way in the back, where the newer graves are." Rory nodded mutely replaying it in her head.

The road was rather long, and Rory wondered if she was still in Hartford. When she finally found the road, she had to drive slowly, or risk flipping the jeep over. The gravel was badly displaced by the tires that no doubt screeched through them not long before.

She was able to follow the trail left behind said tires to where a midnight blue _Charger_ sat. She parked behind it and climbed out. She looked out over the graves and saw him crouching in front of one. He must not have been there long, as he suddenly fell on his rear, and placed his head in his hands. Had he been there long, he might have already been in that position.

She didn't want to intrude, so she stayed away, and called Finn, to let him know where Tristan was. Finn asked her to go make sure he was alright. She remained quiet at his request. Sensing her hesitation, he assured her that Tristan wouldn't hurt her.

She was nervous as she approached him. Tristan sensed her before he saw her. She stayed behind him, watching him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked tiredly.

"I…uh...Finn asked me to come see if you were here. He went somewhere else, I don't know where. He wanted me to make sure you were alright, and…well…are you alright? I mean you look sad, and I'm rambling." She stopped immediately and looked away blushing. Tristan finally looked at her.

"So, Mary cut school to come find me?" She kept looking away from him, her blush increasing. "Who'd a thunk it?" He said his voice dripping with mild sarcasm.

"Finn." Rory said, finally meeting his eyes. They were cold, not icy or closed off, but a lifeless cold. He looked empty. He _was_ empty. Rory felt a pang of sadness at this.

"Come here." He beckoned, and she did, sitting beside him on the ground. Rory stared at the grave before her. In flowing gothic writing was inscribed _Victoria Jennifer DuGrey - A loving Mother, Sister, and Wife. August 9, 1964 - July 12th 1998._

"She was so young!" Rory exclaimed tracing the numbers with her fingers.

"Yeah, she was only 34." Rory jumped slightly, having forgotten Tristan was there.

"That means she had you at... 19?" she asked, looking at him with curious eyes. Tristan laughed slightly.

"Yeah. She had my brother in January and me in December." he said looking down at the grave.

"Irish twins?" Rory asked laughing.

"Yeah, there _was_ a time when my parents were in love." he said ruefully.

"My parents had me and my dad ran the other way." She had, as if trying to show she understood.

"Really? You mean you don't have the perfect family?" he said, looking at her, eyebrow raised in question.

"Far from it. My mother can barely be in the same room as my grandparents, I don't know my dad's parents. My father comes and goes, although his girlfriend is pregnant now, so I suppose we won't see much him at all now. It's just me and Mom, and that's the way it's always been." She said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Mom got pregnant with Ken in her freshman year. They lied to their parents and said they'd eloped, so it was legal and all. After Ken was born in January, she found out she was pregnant with me in March." He smiled over at Rory. "See, it's not just that I'm a womanizing ass. It's in my genetics. Neither one of my parents could keep their hands to themselves." He smiled lightly, as she smiled back.

"Is Ken in our grade or is he a junior?" She asked, having never heard of his brother.

"He's in... he's not in a grade anymore." Tristan looked away from her.

"Oh, did he drop out? If you don't mind me asking." She asked tentatively, noticing his change in tone.

"Look, I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" He snapped slightly.

"Sorry." She apologized, sincerely. "Are you close with your aunt? The one Finn said was in New York?"

"Yeah. She and my mom were twins. I live with her now. I moved in with her at the start of the summer." He said it as though it was all he was going to say on the subject. Rory looked put out, trying to think of something else to say. "Yes, I'm close with her. She's the only one who's been there for me since..." His gaze drifted to the headstone before them.

"I don't know what I'd do without Mom. She's all I have really." She said, as she looked at the headstone, contemplating what she would do in his position.

"I'm lucky to have Terri. Without her, I probably would have been even more fucked up than I already am." His voice began to show frustration and anger. "I don't know what happened. I don't know why I'm like this! I can't... I can't help it. I don't remember what happened after we walked into class to when I got here. I don't even remember driving here! When I get drunk, the lack of memory isn't the alcohol, although that helps, it's this blind rage. The only thing I remember from the party is talking to someone before everything blacks out." He finished dejectedly, putting his head in his hands.

"When? Where were you talking to the person?" Rory asked, hoping that getting him to remember might help.

"A bedroom….I...you..." He looked at her suddenly. "I was talking to _you_!" Tristan said, as bits and pieces of that night came back to him. "And, I remember... eyes. Fear filled eyes. You were terrified. Just like you were in the hallway, at school today." Tristan's head was spinning. He'd managed to block out everything he'd ever done to Summer when he was like that, but he couldn't get Rory's eyes out of his head.

He gripped his head in a feeble attempt to stop everything from coming back.

"I scared you. I hurt you!" He winced as more came back. He had her against the wall, threatening her. He gripped her shoulders. He could feel her wince in his hands both times.

"Tristan, no. You didn't." Rory tried to calm him, she placed her hand on his shoulder, but he threw it off of him. "Tristan that wasn't you." She said, trying to placate him.

"Yes it is. This is me, Rory!" He cried out.

"No, it's not." She shook her head, grabbing his head in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "The real Tristan is who ever you make him. He can be the guy that spent lunch in the library talking with me or he can be the animal you think you are. It's up to you." She whispered the last part.

"I can't do it by myself." He said looking away, as his voice broke.

"I'll help you." She whispered again, forcing him to look at her again.

"I can't ask that of you." He whispered back.

"Well, it's a damn good thing you aren't asking, huh?" She smiled at him, as she enveloped him in a hug. "I'm here to help you, Tris. But you have to let me." He nodded as face was buried into her neck, holding on to her as if his life depended on it. They both sat there, just holding each other for a few more minutes.

When they finally parted, they silently stood. Rory took his hand as they started to walk away, back to the cars. Tristan was a little shocked when she did this, but he smiled and just kept walking.

"You know, I'm surprised." Tristan stated.

Rory looked over at him confused. "Why?" He just smiled. "Why?" She asked again.

"You didn't ask what happened." He said simply.

"What?" Now she was really confused. "Ask about what?"

"My _mom_." He said softly.

"Well, it's not my place. You'll tell me if you want to and when you're ready." She dropped his hand and opened the Jeep's door.

"I think I just might." He said, with a small smile.

"Why don't you come to Luke's with me? After we catch up with Finny Dear." She smiled brightly.

"I'm telling him you called him that." Tristan smirked.

"Not if I do it first." He closed her door and leaned on the window.

"Later, Mary." He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Bye, Bible Boy." She said with a small laugh.

Tristan met Rory outside the diner doors. They were waiting for Finn, when they heard a shriek. They turned towards where they heard the noise, and saw him running towards them with Miss Patty following closely behind.

"Oh, Rory dear, is that fine specimen your friend?" Miss Patty asked, gesturing toward Finn.

"Yes it is, Miss Patty. Bye, Miss Patty." Rory was trying to hold in her laughter as Finn clung to her like a small child, whispering nonsense.

"She tried to molest me, Mary!" He whined.

"Oh, you'd enjoy it, Finn." Tristan scoffed.

Finn whined again, "Not from her."

"Oh, Finny pooh!" Rory soothed. "Let's go eat."

As they made their way into the diner, Tristan and Finn looked around in slight awe. Shortly after they'd ordered, and met Lorelai, school in Stars Hollow had let out. Rory didn't even register the fact that Jess walking into the diner, meant that Dean would be there soon as well.

"Hey, Ror." He nodded to Lorelai. "Auntie Lorelai!" He smirked. She glared.

"Luke and I are not…" Lorelai began, but Luke walked over and kissed her cheek.

"_Sure_ you're not." Jess said, unable to hide his amusement, when he finally noticed the guys with Rory. "These guys with you?"

"Uh huh, Jess, this is Tristan and Finn. Boys, my future cousin and one of my best friends, Jess." She said with a flourish.

"Nice to meet you." Jess said politely.

"Allo, Mate." Finn said taking Jess' outstretched hand.

"Australian?" Jess asked.

"Bloody right!" Finn said proudly.

Jess and Finn sat there talking about Australian music, while Rory and Tristan sat in comfortable silence. After a while, she laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Tristan wrapped an arm around her back. Lorelai had left sometime ago, to go back to work, after threatening the boys if Rory ever cut school again.

"Rory?" his voice was accusing. "What the heck is going on?"

"Oh! Hey Dean!" Rory turned, gracing him with a smile, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be sitting there with Tristan like that.

"What's going on?" He demanded again.

"Oh, just hanging out with Tris, Finn and Jess. Well Jess _should_ be working, but when does he ever?" She said not picking up on his tone of voice.

"Since when do you _ever_ remotely get along with the accountant?" He demanded, getting angrier with each passing second.

"Since today." She said in a slightly annoyed tone. "What difference does it make, Dean?"

"Why can't you stick to female friends?" He said trying to reign in his anger.

"_Excuse_ me?" Rory roared at him. "Why can't I _what_?"

"Stick to Lane and Paris." He said, his voice having grown considerably softer, realizing the mistake he made.

"How about no?" She stood up. If it was possible, Dean seemed to have shrunk in comparison to her raging form.

"Come on, Rory, let's not do this here." He said lowering his voice even more, finally noticing his audience.

"No, let's! Here's as good a place as any! God, what is your problem?" She yelled.

"Him!" He gestured in the general direction of the guys.

They all smirked, "Which one?" Jess said, knowing it would upset Dean even more.

"Ugh!" Dean let out a frustrated growl.

"Dean, let's do this later, okay? Maybe when you pull your head out of your ass!" She stormed out of the diner. Finn and Tristan mumbled their good-byes to Jess and quickly followed Rory out. They both ran across the street to catch up to her.

"Hey, Mary, it's okay." Tristan soothed.

"No, he's right!" She was crying lightly.

"Why? Why is he right?" He soothed again. Finn had backed off, giving them some space.

"I'm a horrible girlfriend!" She wailed.

"No. No you're not." He brushed her hair out of her face. "You're perfect." He whispered.

She looked up at him in shock, and they stayed in that moment as long as they could, before they were forced to separate. The two begrudgingly said good-bye, both unwilling to leave the other. Finn was only too happy to go home, after all the day's drama, although Rory made him promise to be in school the next day.

Unfortunately, the peace the threesome had found would be shattered, soon enough.


	4. Ch3 Something In The Way

AN- Hey guys, sorry its so short and that its taken so long. My computer wouldn't let me online... so. But here it is! Enjoy. Ps. Thanks to La for betaing and to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

_Recap_

_"Hey, Mary, it's okay." Tristan soothed._

_"No, he's right!" She was crying lightly._

_"Why? Why is he right?" He soothed again. Finn had backed off, giving them some space._

_"I'm a horrible girlfriend!" She wailed._

_"No. No you're not." He brushed her hair out of her face. "You're perfect." He whispered._

_She looked up at him in shock, and they stayed in that moment as long as they could, before they were forced to separate. The two begrudgingly said good-bye, both unwilling to leave the other. Finn was only too happy to go home, after all the day's drama, although Rory made him promise to be in school the next day._

_Unfortunately, the peace the threesome had found would be shattered, soon enough._

Chapter 3: There's Something in the Way

Tristan arrived home that evening with a small smile gracing his lips. A real, true, honest to god smile. Teresa walked out to greet him and was shocked at the sight.

"Are you okay?" She inquired, with a raised brow.

"Fine. Amazing. Perfect, maybe. No, not perfect, but close." He said, his eyes looking as though he was in a daze. Terri rushed over to him, placing her hand on his forehead.

"No, you aren't sick." She paused. "Are you on drugs?" She asked seriously. He waved away her question, with a small chuckle.

"No, I'm actually happy." He said the smile stayed on his face.

"Didn't you get into a fight with Damien…or is that why you're happy?" She asked carefully, not wanting to ruin his good mood.

"Sort of." He said with a slight cringe. "I…uh…the girl... _Mary_?" He said as he began to fidget. "She's…uh…we're friends. I guess. She came to find me after I left…and we... uh, hung out and yeah. I'm not exactly sure why I'm so happy! But I am! That's the important part!" He said practically jumping out of his skin.

"This girl... she's got an effect on you. I like her already." She said giving her nephew a warm look.

"Yeah, she's proving to be a great friend..." He said almost sadly.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Terri asked, noticing his tone, as he headed for the stairs.

"Her boyfriend." He tossed over his shoulder.

The following morning came too quickly for some, and too slow for others. Both Rory and Tristan were anxious to get to school, while Finn wanted to crawl into a hole and not come out. Rory walked into school feeling somewhat nervous, yet giddy at the same time. She really wanted to see Tristan. She knew she should probably be upset right now, seeing as how she and Dean fought after Tristan and Finn left. He started calling her rude names and they eventually just called an end to their relationship.

At first, like many people did, Lorelai thought Rory was putting entirely too much faith in Tristan and thought that breaking up with her boyfriend, over her very newly found friendship with Tristan, was absurd. Rory, however, was able to quickly justify her actions with the following arguments:

1. Dean hadn't a right to tell her who to hang out with. It wasn't just Tristan and Finn. He'd tried numerous times to get her to stop hanging out with Jess as well.

2. He'd insinuated things when he said, and she quotes, 'Ya know, back in Chicago, a girl hanging out with so many guys had a reputation.'

3. The relationship wasn't what it used to be. After a year together, it was a little much for high school.

4. He didn't share many of her common interests, such as Jess, and couldn't keep up in her banter such as Tristan.

5. He was jealous of her friendship with her future cousin, (at this comment, Lorelai had made a face) and was completely blind to their platonic affection.

6. Most importantly, he was too needy and too jealous.

Lorelai still argued that it was a little strange, but accepted it. She didn't force the wallowing, and accepted that Rory would wallow when she was ready. Like normal, however, Rory wasn't going to wallow.

She just wanted to find Tristan. Although she wouldn't admit it, Rory had been harboring a very, very deep crush for Tristan since he first called her Mary. However, she knew it wasn't right, and kept him at a distance. While she was with Dean the first time, she was able to keep her feelings in check. The more she was around Tristan, the more she found it difficult to hide. Of course, as of this moment, she still wouldn't and couldn't tell Tristan the truth of her feelings, for two main reasons. A) It was far too soon after her break up with Dean…and

B) He was still with Summer.

Walking to her locker, Rory found a half asleep Finn sitting at the bottom of it, with coffee and a rose in hand.

"Finny?" Rory teased. He woke up rather quickly.

"RG, love!" He stood up and handed her the coffee and the rose. "These are a thank you for yesterday."

Rory drank the coffee and smelled the rose. "It's pretty. Thank you. And yesterday was no biggie. Um, the coffee would've been enough. The rose isn't necessary." He could tell she was getting the wrong idea.

"Oh, doll, the rose is from TJ." He said quickly.

"Oh. Really? Tristan gave me a rose?" She was smiling brightly at Finn. Finn felt a little guilt, knowing Tristan should be the one receiving that beautiful smile, not him.

"Yes, but he had to talk to his teachers, so he asked me to wait here. The coffee is from him too, Irish Creme?" He said, gesturing to the coffee cup in her hand. She began to eye it warily.

"Finnegan, that better not be Irish coffee!" She said, with a small frown.

"If it was, I'd have drank it already!" He said laughing.

As the halls began to fill up with people, rumors began flying. _Finn and Rory were seen leaving school together yesterday, and now he'd given her a rose!...They'd make a cute couple, and she was already making him attend school…But what would Finn's best friend Tristan think?... Wasn't he in love with Miss Mary?... Where was he? _The two were completely oblivious to all the whispers that were going on around them. As the bell rang, Finn grabbed Rory's books and threw an arm around her shoulder. Upon reaching their class, (they had most of them together with Tristan) they were instructed by their teacher, to go to the principal's office.

Upon entering they found Tristan sitting there. He wouldn't look at them, considering Finn's arm was still around Rory.

"Hey, mate. Why are we here?" Tristan just looked dead a head. Rory moved out from under Finn's arm and sat down next Tristan.

"Tris, what's wrong?" He just kept looking ahead. "Come on, talk to me." She started poking his ribs.

"Stop." He snapped at her. Rory recoiled, not expecting that.

"I…I'm sorry." She muttered.

"Whatever." He said, still not looking at Rory or Finn.

"TJ, what's wrong?" Tristan still wasn't answering. "Tristan..." Finn waved his head in front of the boy's face, but it was quickly smacked away by that same boy's own hand.

"Fuck of…" He gritted out, before being cut off.

"Mr. DuGrey. Mr. Morgan. Ms. Gilmore." Charleston opened the door at that moment. "Come in."

The three all took seats, Tristan, then Rory and finally Finn. After a few moments of silence Rory spoke up, "Why are we here?"

"Well, Miss Gilmore , after Mr. DuGrey's outburst yesterday, you and Mr. Morgan left school property. This wouldn't be abnormal for Mr. Morgan, but you. I'm curious as to why?" He said, waiting for her response.

"Mr. Morgan," Rory began mocking him, "asked me to help find Mr. DuGrey. His hand looked pretty bad. We wanted to make sure he was alright. We were just concerned for his physical and mental well being. Mr. DuGrey shouldn't have been presented with such a situation. It wasn't at all fair. I would have thought a school as prestigious as Chilton would have looked into this boy, what's his name again? I never can remember it." She said, snapping her fingers as if trying to recall.

"Damien Lucas." Finn supplied for her.

"Ah right, Damien's record and seen that he should not be in a class with Tristan." She said finishing her previous thought.

"You are quiet right, Ms. Gilmore…" the headmaster began, before Rory cut him off.

"I'm not done. Also, Tristan should in no way be held accountable for the altercation. The only one to blame is the person who put together Mr. Lucas' schedule. Personally, I think all of Damien's classes should be changed to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen again." Rory made a point of gesturing to the three of them.

"Well, Miss Gilmore. That's quiet a speech." The headmaster said, taking in each teen.

"Thank you." She replied politely.

"However, since Mr. DuGrey attacked Mr. Lucas, it's only fair that Mr. DuGrey's schedule get changed." Finn saw Tristan tense.

"10...9... 8," Finn began counting quietly to himself.

Rory began speaking quickly, not yet having noticed Tristan's stiff posture. "Headmaster, with all due respect. That isn't a good idea. If he's still in class with Finn, another altercation may still arise…" Before Rory could finish her thought, Finn's voice interrupted her.

"2...1. Duck, love." Finn said to Rory, she did, just in time for a chair to go sailing over Rory and Charleston's heads.

"What in the world? Mr. DuGrey." Tristan was already half way out the door.

"Mr. DuGrey!" Tristan turned back, surprising Finn. Well, for a split second anyway as Tristan turned and punched the glass window of the door, shattering it to pieces.

"Fuck off, Charleston." He stood with his back to the rest. "You can't ever just _help_ anyone, can you?" As the silence set in, Charleston was left speechless, and Rory was left to ponder, as Finn ran out after Tristan.

A few minutes later, Rory again found Tristan and Finn arguing in the hallway.

"Fuck off, Finn! Go to Hell!" Tristan said through clenched teeth, trying to reign in his anger.

"What the bloody hell did I do?" Finn said, obviously confused.

"You're so fucking full of it!" Tristan roared, losing hold of his anger, punching the wall, blood already pouring from his hand.

Almost whining, Finn cried, "What are you talking about?"

"Rory!" Tristan said, his voice full of pain and anguish, although Finn had a good idea it wasn't because his hand hurt.

"What about the lovely Miss Mary?" Finn said cautiously.

"You stole her!" Tristan said, looking visibly defeated.

"Mate, what the bloody hell are you talking about? Yes, I'm quiet taken by her. She reminds me of Ruby. But even if I had feelings for her, you've had your claim on her for awhile now. Besides…" He trailed off when a voice cut him off.

"Excuse me?" The boys turned to the smoldering mass known as Rory. "You have your _'claim'_ on me?" She seethed angrily.

"Uh, RG, darling. Taking my words too far. I merely meant he's liked you forever…" She cut him off again.

"Can it, Finn!" She turned to Tristan. "And if he's liked me for so long, he has a shitty way of showing it!" She stared him right in the eyes as the tears began to brim in eyes. "I can't believe you." She whispered angrily, before turning away from them and running, tears beginning to stream down her face.

Tristan turned and punched another wall. "God damn it!" He yelled, realizing what he'd just done.

"Mate, you might want to stop punching things. I think you've broken your hand enough for today. Let's get you to the hospital." Finn cringed the second the word left his mouth. Tristan shook his head vehemently.

"No. I have to get to Rory." He ran off a little ways before turning back around. "Uh, I don't think I can drive like this." He smiled sheepishly.

Finn smiled and walked up to him, throwing an arm around Tristan's shoulder. "Let's go get your girl back shall we." In the car, they sat in comfortable silence, until Finn broke it.

"She loved the rose by the way." He said as if talking about the weather. Tristan looked at him before responding.

"Did you tell her it was from me?" He asked, turning back toward the road, trying to sound indifferent.

"Of course." Finn said.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Tristan said in a soft voice.

"I know. I understood as soon as you said her name." Finn said, placing a hand on his shoulder, letting him know that everything was forgiven.

"It's just... that's what..." Tristan muttered, trying to get his thoughts straight.

"I know, TJ, I know." Finn said, squeezing his shoulder once for reassurance.

"You know Lorelai is going to kill us right?" Tristan said laughing lightly.

"Oh yeah. But see, you're the one who made her mad, not me." Finn said with a wide smile.

"Yeah well, what else is new?" Tristan muttered.

The boys sat in silence the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts. Hopefully, they'd be able to fix everything and Rory wouldn't get into too much trouble with the school. The last thing Tristan wanted to do was drag someone else into the spiraling, out of control, nightmare known as his life.


	5. Ch4 Follow My Lead

AN - Hey guys! Well, oddly enough rather than write when i had nothing better to do, like clean, i wrote this on 4th of july... when i sould have been cleaning for a picnic! And by the way, my beta La is the bestest ever! She did this at like 12:30 am or something and she had work, so she is amazing! Enjoy our hard labors!

BTW, recap is actually not the end end... i shortened a little because it was long, and you don't need all that... and the story also jumps in the middle its only about the 1st or 2nd week or December, and it's been like 3 or 4 weeks. if anyone is confused let me know and i;ll explain!

Later, Bree

* * *

_Recap:_

_"What about the lovely Miss Mary?" Finn said cautiously._

_"You stole her!" Tristan said, looking visibly defeated._

_"Mate, what the bloody hell are you talking about? Yes, I'm quiet taken by her. She reminds me of Ruby. But even if I had feelings for her, you've had your claim on her for awhile now. Besides…" He trailed off when a voice cut him off._

_"Excuse me?" The boys turned to the smoldering mass known as Rory. "You have your 'claim' on me?" She seethed angrily._

_"Uh, RG, darling. Taking my words too far. I merely meant he's liked you forever…" She cut him off again._

_"Can it, Finn!" She turned to Tristan. "And if he's liked me for so long, he has a shitty way of showing it!" She stared him right in the eyes as the tears began to brim in eyes. "I can't believe you." She whispered angrily, before turning away from them and running, tears beginning to stream down her face._

_Tristan turned and punched another wall. "God damn it!" He yelled, realizing what he'd just done._

_"Mate, you might want to stop punching things. I think you've broken your hand enough for today. Let's get you to the hospital." Finn cringed the second the word left his mouth. Tristan shook his head vehemently._

_"No. I have to get to Rory." He ran off a little ways before turning back around. "Uh, I don't think I can drive like this." He smiled sheepishly._

_Finn smiled and walked up to him, throwing an arm around Tristan's shoulder. "Let's go get your girl back shall we." In the car, they sat in comfortable silence, until Finn broke it._

_"She loved the rose by the way." He said as if talking about the weather. Tristan looked at him before responding._

_"Did you tell her it was from me?" He asked, turning back toward the road, trying to sound indifferent._

_"Of course." Finn said. ..._

* * *

Chapter 4: Follow My Lead

Tristan and Finn searched high and low in Stars Hollow for almost two hours before they finally admitted defeat. They'd asked Luke for directions to the Inn. The ranting of the pompous French guy, behind the counter, allowed them to share an amused glance. As Michel walked away while muttering about American teenagers, they had to hold in their laughter and remember they were trying to find Rory. When Michel came back he directed them to the kitchen.

"Finnegan! Tristan!" Lorelai said overly dramatic. "Sookie, these are Rory's boy toys from Chilton." She looked at the boys, "Boy toys, this is my best friend Sookie."

"Here, try these!" The boys had food shoved in their mouths by Sookie. The indignant looks on their faces soon turned to one of bliss, as they started going on about how good it tasted.

"Love, I have never had anything like that!" Finn gushed, and soon started talking to Sookie about food. Finn, it seemed was very versatile, and could fit in just about anywhere. Tristan watched with laughter in his eyes.

"ET, why, oh, why are you here?" Lorelai called out, reminding them of their reason for being in Stars Hollow when they should be in school. Tristan turned sheepishly to Lorelai.

"We lost Rory." He said softly, unable to look her in the eye.

"_What_?" Lorelia looked at him oddly.

"Well, see, she over heard Finn saying something stupid…" He said as he turned to glare at Finn. "…Took it wrong, yelled at me, and ran off crying. We've been all over Stars Hollow. We can't find her anywhere!" He finally said, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

"Ah, young one, you've much to learn." Lorelai said as she patted him on the shoulder. She quickly started to walk away, and noticed that the boys were not behind her. "Well? Come on, now." She called over her shoulder, and began walking again. Both Tristan and Finn followed quickly behind.

Once she reached the front desk, Lorelai called Chilton.

"Hello, this is Lorelai Gilmore. I was wondering if you could check to see if my daughter is in school." She said, using her most professional sounding voice.

"Are you Lorelai Gilmore's mother?" The receptionist who answered, asked.

"Yes, I am. Hence the name." Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

"One moment please. The Headmaster would like to talk to you as well. Please hold." Lorelai looked over at the boys.

"Why does Charleston want to talk to me?" Both boys looked away and started whistling and rocking on their heels.

"Don't know. Do you know, Finn?" Tristan said, feigning innocence. Finn quickly shook his head 'no'. Both boys continued to fidget and still had yet to make eye contact with her. Lorelai raised an eyebrow at the two.

"Ms. Gilmore?" The receptionist said.

"Ah, yes." Lorelai answered.

"Ms. Gilmore is in school. Headmaster Charleston would like a word with you." Before Lorelai could reply, Charleston's voice came through. "Miss Gilmore?"

"Yes?" She said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Your daughter was in my office this morning. She left school early yesterday. Were you aware?" He asked haughtily.

"Yes, she came home after she found her friend." She said, not liking the tone he was using with her.

"That's what's troubling me. I know she is friends with Ms. Gellar and her lot. However, the last two days she's been involved in some trouble with Mr. DuGray and Mr. Morgan." He said again, sounding overly confident.

"_Trouble_? What kind of trouble?" She questioned, glancing at the boys.

"Yes. The other day, Mr. DuGrey was involved in a physical altercation, with another student and then left the school grounds. Ms. Gilmore and Mr. Morgan, without permission, went to go find him. Then today, the three were in my office to discuss said events. Mr. DuGrey, having lost his temper, once again, threw a chair at me, and punched the window on my office door." He said, sounding seriously put out.

"I _see_. So Mr. DuGrey is a _bad seed_?" She said, trying to get to the point.

"Yes." He said, sounding quite proud.

"Well, I have Mr. DuGrey and Mr. Morgan with me now, Headmaster. I've known Tristan's grandfather for years. Tristan and Finn are working and helping out in my town as an attempt to help reform them. Don't you think my daughter's friendship might aid in this process?" She said, channeling Emily quite well.

"Well…I…uh…yes. Ms. Gilmore is one of our finest." He said, clearly not expecting this reaction. "I believe she'd be a very good aid to that process. Unless it backfires and drags her into their mess." He said, trying to reestablish control of the situation.

"Headmaster, my daughter is in school. The boys are here. Now, from what I understand Mr. DuGrey should be suspended as of right now, yes?" She said, not wanting to lose her upper hand.

"Yes…" He muttered, unsure as to where Lorelai was heading.

"And Mr. Morgan is never in school anyway. They're here, so I can keep an eye on them. They're going to be doing work around my Inn for the rest of the day. Mr. Morgan will be in school tomorrow. Should Tristan?" She said, again, not letting him regain his footing.

"No, he's suspended for the rest of the week." He said, indignantly.

"Very well." Lorelai paused. "Good day, Headmaster." Lorelai hung up the phone. "Ugh!" She made a face. "I _hate_ that man!"

"We do, too! Oh, and thanks for lying to Charleston, Lorelai!" Tristan said happily.

"Oh I wasn't lying. I _do_ know your grandfather, and you _will_ be working at my Inn today." She said, all traces of amusement gone from her face and voice. Their jaws hit the floor.

Later that day, A still slightly upset Rory walked into the Inn. "Hey, Michel. Is Mom around?" She asked sullenly.

"She is attending to those two idiots of yours." He sniffed before walking away.

"O-kay." Rory headed for the kitchen, clearly confused. "Mom? Sookie?"

"Oh, hey, Rory. Your mom's outside with the boys. They should be back, in a few. Want a cookie." It wasn't a question. Rory happily took the proffered cookie.

When Tristan came in, Rory had her back to him. He signaled to Sookie to be quiet. He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. "Mary." He whispered in her ear. She jumped, spinning around in his arms. "Hi." He said amused as she blushed.

"Hi." She said, looking down.

"Still mad at me?" He said, having yet to release his hold on her.

"No. Well, sort of." She said, clearly flustered, by his proximity. Fortunately for her, Tristan merely thought she was still annoyed with him.

"Let's go talk." He said softly before he released her hips and pulled her out the door. Finally being able to get a good look at him, she noticed he was dirty.

"What've you been doing?" She said, unconsciously reaching up to brush some of the dust from his shoulders.

"Fixing the shed with Finn." He said as if it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be doing.

"_Why_?" She said, looking at him as if he were crazy.

"Lorelai made us." His short replies were baffling her. He plopped down by the lake side. Rory joined him silently. "So..." He said, as she sat down.

"So..." She mimicked.

"You're mad at me?" He asked, although it came out sounding more like a statement.

"I just don't think it's fair for you to have a _claim_ on me…" said using air quotes on the word 'claim'. "…when you have a girlfriend." She finished giving him a pointed look. Tristan snorted at the word 'girlfriend'.

"_Girlfriend_. Right. Summer's more like a fuck buddy." He said, nonchalantly. Rory was put off a little by his crude wording. When he saw the look of disgust on her face, he amended his original statement. "Sorry, fornication partner, better?" He said, cynically.

"Thanks." She said dryly. Before he could say something, she continued. "And, I don't like Finn like that. I was actually nervous when he gave me the rose, until..." She paused for a second to take a breath. "…until he said it was from you. It _was_ from you right? If not I'd feel like a major idiot right now." She was blushing and looking away from Tristan.

"Yes, it was from me." He smiled at her babbling.

"Oh, good." They sat in silence, enjoying watching the sun glimmer on the lake. At some point her head came to rest on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her back.

"I hate to break up the party, but I've been instructed that we have a movie night to prepare." Finn said making his presence behind them known.

"Oh." Rory jumped slightly at the intrusion. "Movie night?" She was beaming.

"Uh, yeah." Finn said, a bit confused by her enthusiasm.

"Let's go." Rory jumped and ran towards the Inn. Tristan and Finn exchanged glances. Rory stopped and yelled back at them, "You comin' or what?" Again the boys looked at each other and smiled before taking off after Rory.

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and soon it was almost Christmas. Tristan was expected to throw the annual DuGrey boys' costume party, a combination of the boys' birthdays. However, this year, he really wasn't up for it. He and Finn were planning on spending the holidays in Stars Hollow as his aunt and uncle were going to his family's. She'd finally told them the news she'd been trying to tell him for days. Tristan was happy for her, but a little sad at the same time. His aunt was pregnant.

Tristan stood by the lake, watching the colorful leaves dance across the water's surface, descending softly, placing a butterfly kiss on its surface, before skipping across. The chilly breeze blew as he stood, shoulder's slumped, hands in pockets. The air had a sense of lifelessness. It was cold, reproaching. It made the average person want to run back inside for a sweater or two. He'd grown to love the lake behind the Inn. The serenity was calming.

He and Finn had been working around the Inn, the Diner, Lorelai's house, Sookie's house, Lane's house. Just about anywhere Lorelai knew they'd be useful. She let the property owners pay them, but she took the money. She claimed it was to help them to reform, so their hard earned money was being taken for a little while. She promised they'd get it back eventually. She really hadn't been lying when she said that she knew Janlan.

Janlan told Lorelai of the argument he and Terri's husband had gotten into over Tristan. Charles was ready to send him to Military school after what happened in Charleston's office, but Terri agreed that Rory and Lorelai might do him some good. People who didn't know everything, who didn't share his pain could be beneficial. He might be able to get over it.

Tristan looked out at the lake and saw two small ducks behind a mother duck. The scene reminded him of his family. He cast his eyes up to the sky. He wondered if his mother could see him, if she could see what he'd become. He didn't want her to.

He turned away from the lake, heading back to the Inn. Rory was coming out of the Kitchen at that time. She smiled at him, but he was too lost in his thoughts. She noticed this and just stood waiting until he noticed her. When he did he looked surprised for a second before he smiled.

"Hey, I thought you had a Franklin meeting?" He wrapped her in a hug. She sighed into his shoulder.

"I convinced Paris to let us go early." She mumbled.

"_See_…there are perks to being friends with the editor." They still hadn't released their holds on one another.

"So, what were you doing out here?" She asked softly, pulling from his embrace, but not moving from his personal space.

He shrugged and looked back at the lake. "I like the lake. It's peaceful." He said, almost sighing.

"Definitely one of my favorite places here." She said smiling.

"Where's the other?" He asked curiously, turning to face her.

"The shed." She said without hesitation.

"What's up with that anyway? Your mom's had me working on it…_a lot_." Rory looked away, a little embarrassed, not for herself, but for her mother. She walked away from him, wrapping her arms across her chest.

"When Mom ran away, we didn't have anywhere to go. She came here and asked for a job. Mia let us stay in the shed until Mom bought the Crap Shack when I was six." He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I didn't think it was possible." He commented, resting his head on hers as they looked out at the lake once more.

"What?" She whispered into the breeze.

"I respect your mother so much more." He stepped back from her. She turned to look at him. "Come with me." He said holding out his hand. She grasped it lightly as he pulled her along. When he began to walk a bit faster, her hold tightened.

"Tris, where are we going in such a hurry?" She asked smiling lightly.

"You'll see. You trust me, right?" He said with a knowing smile. She smiled back at him with a wary one.

"Last time you said _that_ you took me with you to break up with Summer!" She said, in mock annoyance.

"Yeah well, I needed a witness." He shrugged, smirking.

"And you couldn't take Finn?" She asked incredulously.

"Finn would've lied had it been necessary. Everyone knows you're too innocent to lie. They believed you." He said rather seriously. Rory stopped and just stared at him.

"You actually had a reason?" She asked in disbelief.

"No, but that was some pretty good BS, wasn't it?" He smirked as her face turned into a small scowl. He kissed her forehead. "Chill, Ror." She smacked him in the arm as they made it to his car.

"Everyone swore we were together! There were all sorts of rumors. Especially since people still thought that I was with Finn!" She exclaimed, indignantly.

"Was it really that bad, having everyone thinking you were with me?" He asked softly, as he started up the car and peeled off.

She sighed, grabbing his hand. "No, but the death glares, the snickers, the leers, the rumors, the name calling..." She listed off.

He pulled their hands up to his lips, kissing her hand softly. "I get it." Rory suppressed a groan.

"So, where are we going?" She said, changing the subject.

"You'll see." He said cryptically.

"Are we going to Hartford?" She asked, trying to get a hint.

"Nope." He said with a small smile, amused by her childishness.

"Where?" she whined.

"You'll see, Mary." He laughed at her frustration. She hated surprises.

After a little while, they arrived in New Haven. Tristan kept her silent until he pulled up to the New Haven Memorial Hospital.

"Why are we in a hospital?" Rory asked quietly, as he led her through the hospital. He didn't stop to get a visitor's pass, and the nurse just smiled at him. "Tris, don't we need..." He pulled her in the elevator. He wasn't saying anything and it was scaring her.

She stepped in front of him, placing her petite hand on his cheek. "Tris?" He leant forward and kissed her lightly. She looked baffled. "What was…" The doors opened.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand again, dragging her down the hallway. When they stopped, they were looking in a window. There was a boy with blonde hair, who looked a lot like Tristan, lying in a bed, with a machine hooked up to him.

"Tristan, is that...?" She knew who it was. He knew she knew. He nodded somberly.

"Yeah, that's Ken." He said, sadly.

Due to the position of the window, he didn't see the person coming out of the room. He didn't notice Damien until he was in the hall. The rage that suddenly began to consume him was more than Rory was ready to handle without Finn. Rory prayed nothing would happen. But then again, who would be listening?


	6. Ch5 The Truth Part I

Fairly short, but I already have Ch6 written, and waiting to be beta'd. I was going to post them together, but she only gotone back to me, so I figured, what the hell... Sorry it took so long. I got depressed at the lack of reviews,and I was nervous about where the story was going because as I said in the beginnning, this isn't the plot, nowhere near the plot! We're just getting into it. I'm afraid people aren't going to like the main plot... but I say screw them! Anyway, I was working on finishing 5 and 6 just started writing its self afterwards, and 7's following quickly too, but ihaven'tt started it yet. This is an early birthday present from myself to myself, as is 6, and 7! -hint, hint, my 16th birthday is next Wed.- I'm so excited! Anyway, enjoy the chapter. (6 is Part II, and Part III will be a later chapter. Not 7.)

* * *

Chapter 5: The Truth Part I

"What are you doing here?" Tristan growled.

"What, I can't see my friend?" Damien said indifferently.

"You're not his friend. You killed his mother!" Tristan screamed at him. Rory gasped in shock, gripping Tristan's hand tightly. Damien looked pained for about a second.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Damien shook his head, walking away.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tristan called after him.

"Figure it out yourself, Little Boy." Tristan made to run after him and beat him to a pulp.

Rory placed her hand on his arm, trying to placate him. "Tris." She said softly. "We came to see your brother. Not get into a fight. Come on." Rory soothed. He relaxed at her voice and touch.

"You're right. Come on." He ushered her into the room.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked standing next to Ken's bed.

"He's... he's in a coma." Tristan stuttered. Rory held his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"It's okay." She placed her head on his shoulder, or his arm rather, from the way they were standing.

"You're amazing, ya know?" He said into her hair.

"Yes, I know. Why?" She asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Again, you didn't ask." He said, looking down at her in awe.

"Not my place. Although, as to the other thing I didn't ask. I have a little more info. It's quenched my curiosity." She smiled smugly.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that." He laughed softly. "Anyway. I haven't properly introduced you. Mary, this is my big brother Kenny. Ken, this is Mary." The last part he said softly, casting a soft glance towards Rory.

"You know, when he wakes up, he'll probably think my name is Mary!" She laughed, missing his adoring look, since she was busy looking at Kenny, noticing the similarities between him and Tristan.

"Ah well." She said shrugging her shoulders. They continued to watch Kenny rest in silence for a few minutes.

A doctor walked into the room. "Ah, Mr. DuGrey. Nice to see you again. I hear your aunt is expecting?"

"Hello, Dr. Kudo. Yes, she is. She's only about 4 months." Tristan said politely.

"Send her my congratulations. Oh, I didn't see you there." He said stopping abruptly at the sight of Rory. "And who might this lovely girl be?" Dr. Kudo asked, giving her a kind smile.

"My friend, Rory." Rory's smile faltered a little at the word friend.

For the past few weeks she'd kept her feelings held in tight. Then, she hoped Tristan would ask her out after he'd broken up with Summer, hoping that was why he took her with him, as proof for her own eyes. But that was three weeks ago. He was driving her crazy, and the look in his eyes in the car made her wonder more. But that kiss in the elevator, that wasn't just an 'I'm glad you're here with me' kiss. She didn't know what they were anymore. She was broken from her thoughts at the sound of the doctor's voice.

"Ah, I see you've found a replacement for Finn." Dr. Kudo said teasingly.

"No, Finn's still around. He's probably hitting on my mother right now." Rory said with a grin.

"Yeah, that's a little disturbing, Mar." Tristan grimaced.

"Well, your brother is doing better." The doctor interrupted. "He's nowhere near waking up yet, but with the advancements they're making in the studies, we may be able to bring him back. He's processing brainwaves. He hears what you can say. He may not understand it until he wakes up, but he'll hear it." The doctor said encouragingly.

"That's great." Tristan smiled, as Rory tapped him lightly in the arm with a small dainty fist.

"See, he _will_ think my name is Mary!" She said with pout. Although the glint in her eyes let him know she was only teasing.

"_And_? So what?" He said dismissively with a shrug of his shoulders.

"_Tristan_!" Rory hissed, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Well, I actually need to run some tests on Ken right now. Why don't you stop by tomorrow?" He said trying to hide his smile.

"Alright, no problem, doctor. Thank you." Tristan said sincerely, shaking the doctor's hand before he left, while Rory smiled politely.

As they headed back toward the elevator, Rory broke the silence. "So, that's Ken? Explains why he's not in a grade anymore." She said lightly, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty stupid now." Tristan said smiling lightly also.

"Ah well, you were upset. I let it go." She said looking at him intently.

"You want to know, don't you?" He asked changing the subject. She wasn't sure if he meant his mother or Ken, but either way, she was curious.

"Only if you feel like sharing. I don't want you to get upset." She said looking down at her feet.

He sighed, dropping her hand and wrapping his now free arm around her shoulder, "In that case, I'll tell you when we get back to Stars Hallow."

They walked in silence until they reached the car. They continued in silence even when they hit the highway, both thinking about the day's events. Rory's mind was wandering back to the kiss, where as Tristan was thinking of what to say to Rory. Finally sick of his own thoughts, he turned to Rory, "Whatcha thinkin' bout?" He asked softly.

"Hmm?" This brought Rory out of her thoughts. "Oh nothing. Just daydreaming. Oh, hey we're home!" Tristan looked up, and sure enough, they were. He hadn't even realized that he'd driven into Stars Hollow.

"Shall we?" He opened his door, exiting the car. The warm breeze that was blowing blew Rory's hair in all different directions, causing her to run up to her porch. Tristan chuckled as he watched her. She glared slightly while taking a seat on the porch swing.

He sighed heavily while sitting next to her. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands over his face. She kept quiet, letting him collect his thoughts. For a good five minutes, the only sound was the wind, as they watched the dancing leaves.

Sighing once more, he straightened. Leaning back, he wrapped an arm around Rory, pulling her gently to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

"Damien was Ken's best friend. We've never gotten along. Damien's the one that got us into the drugs…" He started.

"You do drugs?" Rory interrupted, straightening in his arms.

"I used to. The night of the party was the last time. It was an escape, especially after Mom died." Rory relaxed once more into his arms. "Anyway, Ken used more than I did, and we always went through Damien. He'd get it for us. Usually Ken placed the order. A week or so before it happened, he had me do it. He'd been really busy, so he had me call Damien. Well Damien gave me flour. I wasn't in the mood to do it, so I just gave the bag right to Ken. I'd been trying to get him to quit for awhile, at least the coke. The weed wasn't that bad, but the coke, it scared me then." Rory listened closely. She was beginning to see a new side of Tristan, and was starting to dislike the other boys. "Well, Ken got in my face about it. Screaming at me 'Did I think it was funny?' that 'He'd given me one thing to do, and I had to be an ass and be inconsiderate.' Well, I screamed back, and we got into a fist fight. Damien told Ken he'd given me what I asked for. He was always calling me 'Little Boy'. Telling me I couldn't handle big boy things. So Ken hit Damien. Telling him he was an ass for giving me the wrong shit just to fuck with me. Damien played innocent, saying it was the dealer. Ken wouldn't believe Damien. He told him he'd had enough of Damien's shit, and him messing with me."

Tristan took a deep breathe preparing himself for the next part of the story. Rory tried to steel herself for whatever it was. At some point, she'd curled into him. Anyone looking on would think they were just young and in love, not regaling the tale of the boy's tragic past. "It's okay, Tris. You can stop if you want." She said softly. She wasn't sure if she was giving him the out for his benefit or her own.

"No, I need to get this out." He sighed again. "A week later, we were out to dinner with mom, Terri and Charles. Dad was away on business. We were at an outside table at the restaurant. Mom was sitting between Ken and Charles, neither of us wanted to sit next to him." Tristan's voice started wavering as the next words flowed out of his mouth. "We heard a revving engine, and thought nothing of it. I mean why would we? Until we heard screeching tires. Everyone looked up... just in time for Mom and Ken to get hit by a supposedly out of control car." He was laughing bitterly, tears now forming in his eyes. "Damien was driving the car. He'd told the cops he was pulling over to say hello, when the car lost control and he couldn't stop in time. They believed him." Tristan was crying now, his chest heaving. Rory quickly sat up, switching their positions. She cradled Tristan's sobbing form against her chest, rocking back and forth on the swing.

"Shh, it's okay, Tris. Shh. Come on." She led him inside, to her bedroom. After awhile he fell asleep on her bed. Rory was brushing the hair out of his eyes while thinking, 'Who tries to kill their best friend?'


	7. Ch6 The Truth Part II

Welcome! Okay, so I lied to a reviewer who asked about Ken, you know who you are. You made me think. I won't say who you are so people don't figure out what I'm saying. So 3-4 became next chapter. Also, I told you guys The Truth part III would be like ch 8-9, but its 7. You guys are amazing. Your reviews are seriously helping me fill in the gaps between plot points, if you will. It's like connect the dots, and your my lines. Thanks everyone.

Clara - Your story starts here! This is where your idea is FINALLY started.

Which means, when I say we weren't close to the orginal plot, well here we go. And please remember, that i don't have a complex with it, i was asked to write this story line, to a point. Besides it works very well with my plot.

Okay, so now that I've bored you. I'm sorry I didn'twrite the scene out, but I thought it was cuter this way.

Thanks La for betaing and thanks to all my reviews. I have a small request from you. PM me with what you think the storyline is. Like what you see happening. I think I offended someone saying you guys were clueless or something. Dont say in your reviews too much. Thanks. Bree

* * *

Chapter 6: The Truth Part II

As the weeks past, Rory kept her feelings about Tristan to herself. There had been other moments. Even though they were chaste, neither seemed to acknowledge them.

Walking over to Tristan, Rory looked perplexed. Noticing her face, he asked, "What's up with you?"

"I feel _unloved_." She said dramatically. She was pouting and it took a lot of self restraint for him not to kiss her. He'd slipped too many times already, but in school he knew he couldn't.

"Why?" He said, amusement apparent in his voice.

"I keep getting asked about your party that I know nothing about." Tristan groaned and made a face. He turned to look down the hall.

Successfully finding his intended target, "Finn!" He yelled down the hall. The Aussie excused himself, and quickly turned, heading over.

"You rang?" He asked.

"What party am I having?" Tristan looked like he was about to explode.

In a tiny voice, Finn winced, "The annual one?"

"Whose idea was this?" Tristan demanded, barely holding his temper in.

"I don't know?" Finn replied.

"Finn..." Tristan warned.

"It wasn't me! But I have heard the rumors. As has RG, which I'm assuming is how you found out." Finn explained quickly.

"Sorry." Rory mumbled.

"Great, just fucking great!" Tristan stalked off, slamming the door on his way out of the building. Everyone stopped, looked, stared, and went on with what they were doing.

"Whose turn is it, Love?" Finn sighed.

Rory smiled softly. "I'll go. My fault."

She found him in the courtyard. He had his head in his hands.

"You okay?" She asked sitting next to him.

"No." He said, practically pouting, and sounding like a little boy. She began rubbing his back to comfort him. He melted at her touch. "Everyone thinks I'm having our party, but I can't. It's not the same without him." He explained. Rory figured he was referring to Ken. "Every year we threw a themed costume party. Last year everyone understood why there was no party. This year, they're expecting it. I can't not have it, but I can't have it either!"

"So, let them party, and stay held up in your room, let Finn host it." Rory tried helping him.

"Are you allowed to ditch your own party?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I would know?" She laughed, as did he.

"Well, now I have to think of a theme..." He trailed off when he saw her eyes light up. He looked a little scared. "What?" He asked, afraid of her answer.

"Movie Characters?" She said in a small hopeful voice.

"Works for me!" He said gratefully.

Rory, Finn and Tristan spent the rest of the week spreading the word about the theme this year. By the night of the party, all were actually looking forward to it.

Walking into Tristan's house, she handed Finn a bag, and then Tristan. "I need to get changed. As do the both of you."

"We already _have_ our costumes, Mar." Tristan said, slightly confused by the smile on her face.

"Oh well. I like my idea better. Go." Tristan pulled her upstairs with him. She walked into his bathroom to change. Tristan pulled out his costume and started laughing.

"You are not serious!" He exclaimed holding up his costume and examining it.

"Oh I am. Now zip me up!" She walked out of the room dressed as the Virgin Mary.

"And I am?"

"Joseph ."

"And Finn?"

"Jesus."

"And we are from?"

"Passion of the Christ."

"Of course."

"Get dressed." She said, before she walked out of the room. He heard Finn squealing like a little girl, and telling Rory he loved her. He laughed softly before stripping to become Joseph.

So far the party had been going well. After a couple of hours, Rory headed to the bathroom. When she got to the door, someone was coming out. It was Damien. Almost immediately, she felt enraged.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "What made you think you'd be welcomed here?"

"Let me guess. Tristan told you his version of the story right?" She nodded. "He told you I tried to kill Ken by running him over, right?" Rory nodded once more. Damien snorted slightly .

"What? That's not what happened? You weren't aiming your car at them?" Rory asked skeptically.

"No, I was aiming at the table, yes. But not at Ken. Why would I try to kill my best friend? Or his mother or brother? Tristan and I may not get along, but I don't hate him that much. Hell, I don't even hate him. We just don't get along." He began walking away.

"Then who were you aiming at?" She asked curiously.

"The person who caused all of it in the first place." Damien walked away again. Rory was confused. Shrugging it off she headed into the bathroom.

A few minutes later Tristan found her. "Come dance with me?"

"Why don't we go upstairs. I'm getting tired of all this." She said, suddenly.

"Did Rory 'Mary' Gilmore just proposition me?" Tristan said as he leered at her. She smiled slyly.

"_Maybe_." And took off for the stairs, with him chasing behind her.

He managed to slip into his room behind her before she closed the door. He pinned her against the door by her hips. His hands were burning the skin there. He lowered his lips to her. The kiss was slow at first, both barely reacting to it, and then quickly began to escalate from PG to NC-17. He'd somehow moved them from his door to the bed.

He was kissing down her neck when she whimpered at him, "Make love to me, Tris." He pulled back, completely caught off guard.

"I... I want to... but I'm not letting your first time be like this." He stuttered at first, but gained strength back in his voice.

"Like what?" She looked up at him confused.

"With someone who isn't your boyfriend, who can't be." He said softly, looking down.

"Why not?" She asked as she ran her hand through his hair.

"Because I'm not worthy yet. I can't risk doing to you what I did to Summer. I love you, Rory, but I can't risk that. I can't be with you yet." The honesty in his voice surprised her.

"So, if you love me, it won't matter if we aren't together." She cooed.

"Ror, this isn't you. Why are you pushing for this?" He said, looking her in the eye. Clearly shocked by her boldness.

"Because I want you Tris. Any way I can get you." She said truthfully.

"I won't let it be a one night stand, Mar. I'm sorry." He said, sadly.

"It won't be a one night stand. It'll be a taste of what's to come. I understand Tris, I do. But I want you. More than I ever have. I need you. But if you can't be with me, I understand. Just…just give me this, please?" She nervously, afraid he would reject her.

"Have you had anything to drink tonight?" He said, taking her hands in his.

"Bottled water from the fridge." She answered.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" He said, looking her in the eye once more.

"Yes." She said, with confidence she didn't realize she had.

Finn entered Tristan's room quietly an hour or so later. He smiled at the sight before him. Tristan and Rory were sleeping, with Tristan's arms wrapped protectively around her. He took a picture of them on his phone, and quickly sprawled them a note.

When they'd woke up later on, Tristan smiled down at her. "You okay?"

"Amazing." She kissed his lips softly. "What time is it?" Tristan glanced at the clock.

"1:45... which means I have to get you home." He threw his legs over the side of the bed. He searched the floor for his boxers. Standing up, he slid them on. Rory couldn't help but watch as he did so. "So, Mary, I don't think you can go home as the Virgin Mary, huh?" He smiled at her, as he sat back down on the bed. She smiled as she gripped the sheets to her chest. Her trademark blush caused his trademark smirk. He leaned over and kissed her. "Where are your clothes?"

All she could say was "Bathroom." He retrieved her clothes and watched in amusement as she dressed beneath the sheets. She put on her bra, so she didn't have to hold up the blanket, but she was having difficulty with her jeans.

"I can leave..." Tristan offered.

"No." Rory said, suddenly less bashful, as she kicked off the sheets, revealing why she was trying to put them on under the blankets. She had nothing on under them. Tristan was struck dumb as she slid on her jeans over her cute little butt. He cleared his throat, clearly flustered at the sight. She turned around smiling. "Something wrong, Tris?"

"Uh, no." She looked down, amused. Tristan looked down, and groaned. "Damn you. Put your damn shirt on." He growled, as he went to his dresser and got jeans to throw on. Now that they were both dressed, he looked at her. He slumped down onto the bed.

"You know I love you, right? And I'm just not ready to risk losing you?" He asked. She sat on his lap.

"I know." She kissed his head before standing. "Come on."

When Rory walked into the house that night, Lorelai was waiting.

"So... how was the party?"

"Well, the Virgin Mary no longer exists." Rory said coyly. Lorelai looked puzzled for a moment.

"Oh my god! You didn't!" Rory smiled and nodded shyly. "Rory!"

"Mom, please don't ruin it. Yell at me tomorrow." Rory begged.

"Okay. Fine. So, was it what you were hoping?" Lorelai asked, switching from mom to best friend.

"And more." Rory said dreamily.

"And you two are...?" Lorelai questioned.

"Not together. He's afraid he's going to hurt me." Rory answered truthfully.

"Yet, he slept with you?" Lorelai said, the mom in her beginning to come out again.

"My choice, he was very against it at first." Rory quickly answered, so her mom didn't get the wrong idea about how it happened.

"Well you were very against it after." Lorelai mumbled. Rory looked confused before realization hit.

"Mom!" They laughed.

"By the way, the phones out. Kirk did something." Lorelai said, quickly pretending to forget that her baby girl was no longer a baby.

As of right now, nothing was wrong. A mother trusted her daughter. Nothing was going wrong. She wasn't going to end up pregnant. She was smarter than that. At least nothing was wrong for them.

Tristan entered his home to come face to face with a very angry Terri.

"Tristan Janlan DuGrey! Why did I get a phone call that you were throwing a wild party?" She demanded.

"Um, because, I um, was?" Tristan looked around his house amazed. He barely looked around when he'd left. The place was trashed. "What the hell? It was so not this bad when we went upstairs..." He was talking to himself, but his aunt heard him.

"_We_? Oh, I see. You abandoned my house, to go screw one of your whores? Tristan... there is money missing from the safe in the study. My house is trashed. And I came home to find my nephew not here! I can't handle this. It's not good for the baby. I called Janlan. He's agreed with Charles. None of us want to do this. But I have no choice. Go pack your bag. You're being sent to Military School in North Carolina." Terri said sadly.

"_What_?" He screamed. "You can not be serious! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Tristan look around. You have. I don't want to do this. But, I have no choice. Janlan agrees. As does your father. You have no room for negotiation." She said firmly.

"Terri... I can't leave!" He said, practically begging.

"You have to ." She turned around. Tristan took this as her turning his back on him, just like everyone else.

"Fine." The venom in his voice hurt Terri, but she had to do this. After he stormed up the stairs, she sank onto the couch in tears.

While packing, Tristan opened his nightstand's drawer. He grabbed his wallet, and noticed the box of unopened condoms. He felt his breathe leave him. He was so screwed.


	8. Ch7 Confessions

Heylo! Okay, so there is a really big note at the end. Thanks La for beta'ing. And thanks to all my reviewers. And I say this now: It was in the original story line for Rory to get prgnant and Tristan to get shipped off. HOWEVER! I don't think this is like any other story like that, so... I agree with those of you who don't want her to get prgnant, but.. you'll see. Thanks everyone. Bree

* * *

Chapter 7: Confessions (The Truth Part II 1/2)

While Tristan felt like he was having a heart attack, across town, Rory and Lorelai were still in their happy state of bliss.

"What did Kirk do now?" Rory asked, as if it was an everyday thing. Wait, it was.

"He was trying to fix the cable wires, and for some reason cut them. Only, they were our telephone wires, so no calls in or out. The plus side is, at the moment we have every channel known to man!" Lorelai exclaimed happily.

"_Ooh_! Find a marathon?" Rory asked picking up the remote.

"Ooh! Yes! Let's!" Lorelai said, clapping her hands together.

Tristan's knuckles were white from squeezing the box so tight, and subsequently crushed it.

"Oh, you won't be needing _those_." Charles remarked smugly from the doorway.

"Not _now_, Charles." Tristan whispered scathingly.

"Let's go." Charles commanded.

"I said. Not. _Now_!" Tristan exploded. The box was forgotten as he pushed his uncle into the wall across from his door. He slammed the door so hard, the entire house shook.

He reached for his phone, and tried calling 'Mary' as he took deep breaths. She didn't answer her house phone. Not even the answering machine picked up. He tried her cell phone, and never heard it vibrating next to his foot, inside her costume.

He tried to call her a few more times and gave up. He called Finn next, only to get his voice mail. Tristan cursed under his breath.

Terri entered the room a few moments later, taking the device out of his hands. "Come on." She said, in a clipped tone.

"Hey. I need that." Tristan said, sounding desperate.

"No. You don't." She walked away. She turned when she realized he wasn't following. "_Now_, Tristan." He just bowed his head and grabbed his bag. Surely, they'd tell Finn, who would tell Rory he was leaving. As for the other problem. Hopefully she'd realize they didn't when Lorelai asked, or maybe she was on the pill. Tristan felt a little more at ease, knowing that she wouldn't necessarily get pregnant.

As Tristan boarded the jet with his uncle, Rory was passed out on the couch, and Finn was still missing in action.

* * *

As a month passed, Rory grew upset, frightened, and sick. She hadn't heard from Finn or Tristan. She hadn't seen them since the night of the party. The girls watched her carefully. They noticed that she was getting sick a lot lately. Instead of eating junk food, she ate fruit. The thing that caused them to grow concerned was the fact that coffee, 'the nectar of the gods', made her want to throw up. They tried getting her to take a pregnancy test, but she refused. She was not pregnant. There was no way. She was on the pill. There was no way she was pregnant. She also knew however, that Tristan hadn't used a condom. Of course, by the time she realized this, she was pretty sure she was pregnant, but too stubborn to admit it. Besides, if she was, she wanted Tristan to be the first one she told. She'd tried calling his cell phone, his house, Finn's cell phone and house, Tristan's grandfather. No one ever answered, and when they did, she was hung up on. When she went to his house, the door was closed on her face. On one of her visits, his uncle answered the door and told her, "You really should go home. The last thing I need is another slut hanging around my house looking for Tristan." That was the last time she went there.

In military school, Tristan was full of despair and began to grow desperate. Rory hadn't replied to any of his letters, nor had Finn. He wasn't allowed phone calls, his uncle ensured that. He was going out of his mind.

His first week there, he put another cadet through a wall, and he broke a door by punching it. His room was mysteriously trashed one morning when he woke up. He now had to go to the school psychiatrist every other day. During his first visit, he would only talk about Rory.

"She's _perfect_. She's smart, she's witty, she's fun, she knows when to be serious, and she loves to read. She's _beautiful_. She's addicted to coffee, and has this weird bond with her mother. How many teenage girls want to be an overseas correspondent? And _I_ have her. She's _mine_. For some reason only God knows, even with all my problems, she's still mine. She loves me as much as I love her." As soon as the doctor had asked what he would talk about, Rory flew out of his mouth. Their first couple of sessions focused on her, then her and Finn. Soon, he admitted they weren't really together, but they were in love, and he admitted why he couldn't be with her.

After his admission, Dr. Ateyu asked him about it. "I see. So, you can't be with Rory, because you are afraid you'll hurt her?" she probed.

"Yes." He answered.

"Emotionally or physically?" She continued.

"Both." He said looking at his hands.

"And what has kept you from doing so thus far? From what you've told me, you two have been rather close for the past couple of months." She said, looking up at him, gauging his reactions.

"Every time I've scared her, I can see her eyes in my mind. I can feel how scared she is. It's the only thing I've ever remembered from any of it, and I guess, not…uh…um…forcing her, is because she was a virgin. I couldn't do that to her." He said looking up to meet the doctor's gaze.

"And do you feel that is the only thing that kept you from doing it?" She asked, seeing the anguish in his eyes.

"Yes, and because I love her." He answered sincerely.

"So, if you love her, why isn't that enough to stop you?" She said, again pushing him to open up.

"Because... I..." He started, but looked down unable to answer. Dr. Ateyu, noticed his discomfort and decided to change the subject for now.

"Anyway, back to something else you said. You said she _was_ a virgin. Is it _was_ or _is_?" Tristan smirked while blushing. Did I mention Dr. Ateyu was a woman?

"Was." He said, smiling shyly.

"Was it the two of you or with someone else?" She asked delicately, in case it might upset him.

"_Us_." He said, with a huge giddy grin on his face. He felt like a ten year old girl. "We, uh, slept together, the night I got shipped off." He finished, remembering once again where he was.

"Did you know you were being sent to military school?"

"No, we were at the party I was hosting, and about halfway through the night, she said we should bail and go hang out upstairs. I made a joke about her comment, and surprisingly, she actually flirted with me, answering my question, then running up the stairs. I chased her and I barely got through the door before she closed it. Then I just pushed her against it and started kissing her, not something I haven't done to her before. Kissing her I mean. Just not like this. It was usually short and quick. Before I knew what was happening we were on my bed and she was asking me to make love to her." He said, remembering the events of that night, a small smile playing on his lips.

"And you did?" She asked, getting him to continue.

"Not at first. I told her I couldn't. That…that I couldn't be with her yet and I wasn't going to let her first time be a one night stand. She swore it wouldn't be, because she was just giving me a taste of what was to come when I was ready. She said she'd wait for me, but she needed me anyway she could get me." He said softly.

"And would this be typical behavior for her?" She asked, and he snorted before answering.

"No. So asked her what she'd had to drink all night. She said bottled water from the fridge. No one else was allowed in the fridge except for me and Finn. Its not in the immediate kitchen, it's like a walk in fridge type of thing." He answered.

"So, you eventually gave in and slept with her?" Tristan laughed lightly, something he rarely did since leaving home.

"You make me sound easy and weak." He scoffed, looking at her. She raised an eye as if to say, 'You aren't?' He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, _okay_. Point taken. But, I couldn't help it. The girl I've been in love with for the last seven months was begging me to make love to her, not just…uh…fuck her, but you know really make it mean something. And those _eyes_. You cannot say no to those eyes." He got a dreamy look in his own.

"I have a question, Tristan." He looked at her waiting for her question. "If, you feel, the only thing keeping you from, I don't mean to be blunt, but basically raping your girlfriend was her virginity, and you weren't aware that you were leaving, how do you think that would have effected your relationship?"

Tristan stayed quiet. He hadn't thought of that. Damn psychiatrists.

"You also said that maybe it's your love for her. Do you think she knows you very well? Your temper, your past, things you've done you aren't proud of? Your fears of hurting her?" She said, continuing with her line of thinking.

Quietly, he replied. "Yes."

"Then perhaps you need to believe in _yourself_ and your love for her a little more. She obviously trusts you, and believes you won't hurt her." She said sincerely.

He cracked a small smile, "Mary's always been naive." She smiled in return.

"Now, I don't mean to pry into specifics, but did you use protection?" She watched Tristan's face pale, and the look of fear and guilt mixed into the helplessness that covered his face. He sadly shook his head no.

"And, what happened after you had sex? Did you fight or something? There is more to the story than you are telling me, I know that, but to help you, I need to know." She said, once again looking him in the eye.

"We fell asleep, and when we woke up…it was the best feeling in the world. She woke up shortly after I did. I asked her if she was okay, she said she was amazing... we kissed... figured out the time, and although somewhat distracted, we got dressed and I took her home. That was last I've spoken to her since I left." He said, sounding sad once again.

"Does she know you're here?" She asked sympathetically.

"I don't know. I wasn't able to get in touch with her or Finn. I sent her a letter, so…we'll see." He said, his shoulders slumping forward slightly.

"Hm... okay. Well, right now, I'm going to give you a piece of paper. Think back on the last six months. I want you to write down every emotion you felt in that time." She handed him a paper and pen.

Tristan quickly filled the page with emotions. He handed it back a few minutes later. She gaped at the long list he had created in such a short amount of time.

"Number one. Guilt. Over what?"

"Everything. Like it's my fault mom's gone, Ken's in a coma. For what I've done to Summer. For what I may have done to Rory." He said, leaning back in the chair, letting his head fall back to look up at the ceiling.

"So guilt is your most common emotion?" She said, taking notes.

"Yes." He said tiredly.

"I see. Well, let's see. Number two. Love. Feeling loved or loving?" She questioned.

"Both. When I started hanging out with Rory and her mother, I suddenly felt wanted, _loved_. Lorelai's amazing like that. I love my aunt, and I love Lorelai, but the way I love Rory…It's nothing I've ever felt before." He said dreamily.

"It's a different type of love. That's why." Dr. Ateyu added as Tristan nodded. "Oh, you have to get to chow." She said, noticing the time. Tristan left giving a half hearted salute.

That was his second week there. Now 5 weeks in, he'd yet to receive a letter back from Rory or Finn. Dr. Ateyu noticed him slowly becoming more and more depressed, and his temper reaching dangerous levels. One wrong thing, and Tristan was going to explode.

Rory, on the other hand, was still in denial. Everyone around her was worried. They were afraid of the way she'd been acting, worried she'd hurt the baby if she didn't find out soon. She barely ate, barely slept, and worked non-stop. She even put in more hours at the Franklinthan Paris.

Lorelai even went to her mother for advice.

"Gilmore Residence. Emily Gilmore Speaking."

"Hey, mom." Lorelai said, apprehensively.

"Lorelai? You aren't calling to get out of dinner again are you?" Her tone was disapproving.

"No, actually I was, uh, I wanted to ask you something. Did you know I was pregnant before I told you?" Lorelai blurted out.

"I had my suspicions, yes. _Why_? Rory isn't pregnant is she?" Silence. "Lorelai?"

"Mom, are you busy right now?" Lorelai asked, avoiding the question.

"No, why? Lorelai answer my question!" Emily demanded.

"I'll see you in a few, mom." Lorelai said before hanging up.

When she arrived at the Gilmore mansion, she was instantly bombarded with questions. "Lorelai Victoria Gilmore! Tell me what is going on right this minute!" Before Emily could continue in her rant, Lorelai broke down, crying in front of her mother. Emily could do the only thing she'd wanted to do for years…console her daughter.

Emily, it seemed wasn't the only one to be shocked that day. Damien walked into the hospital with his head down. He didn't want anyone in Ken's family to see him again. They hated him. With just cause, too, but when he entered Ken's room he wasn't expecting Ken to be looking back at him.

"I didn't know you were awake." Damien breathed out. He was clearly shocked.

"Please forgive me for asking this, but who are you, how do I know you, and are you Tristan?" Ken asked. Damien scoffed.

"I'm assuming you don't remember shit?" Ken shook his slowly. "I'm Damien. I _used_ to be your best friend."

"Used to?" Ken asked confused.

"Did they tell you anything?" Damien asked, still shocked that his friend was awake.

"Only that my mother is dead. They won't tell me who Tristan is or if he's alright. But the more I'm awake, the more I keep hearing things, like these voices always talking to me." Ken answered, looking away as if trying to remember something.

"It's probably all the brainwaves catching up or something. You were out for over a year." Damien said, his tone softening.

"So, how did you used to be my best friend?" Ken asked, looking at his 'best friend' trying to recall his memories.

"We got into a pretty messy fight before this." Damien said softly, looking at his feet.

"Oh. Can you tell me who Tristan is?" Ken asked, hopefully.

"They won't tell you?" Damien asked, looking up at him wondering why they wouldn't tell him about his brother or why he hadn't seen him yet. He was sure if Ken was awake, Tristan would be the first one here.

"The only person I've met is my uncle, Charles…and man, I get the feeling I hate him." Ken said, playing with the corner of the sheet covering him.

"You do." Damien said, seeing that it was pointless to lie.

"Why won't anyone tell me who _Tristan_ is?" Ken said in exasperation. Something clicked in Damien's head suddenly.

"You know what. I've gotta go do something. I promise I'll tell you who Tristan is when I come back. Maybe. I don't know yet. But I _will_ be back with someone." He quickly ran out the door, giving Ken a head ache.

Rory was drifting off to sleep on the couch when an erratic knocking began pounding on the door. Rory quickly ran to the door, and opened it which only made her light headed and dizzy, causing her to practically fall into the person on the other side. The person dragged her to the couch once more. When she was able to focus again, she let out a small shriek.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" She instantly became guarded.

"_Well_. I need your help. Do you know where Tristan is?" Damien asked. Looking at her mildly concerned. "And are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I was laying down when you started breaking down my door." She sighed, "But I don't know where Tristan or Finn are. They disappeared after the party." The last part she said somewhat sadly, in a soft voice that Damien almost didn't hear it.

"_Shit_." He cursed. Rory looked confused for a moment. "Ken's awake, but they won't tell him who Tristan is. They're keeping shit from him." He said angrily.

"Ken's _awake_?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah, and I have to find Tristan." Damien said determinedly.

"You really care about Ken, huh?" She said, her voice softening at his concern. Damien looked at her and decided she needed to know the truth.

"I told you, I was never trying to kill Ken _or_ Tristan. I owe Ken so much. I really fucked up our friendship a few weeks before everything happened. Ken liked this girl. He didn't just want to get into her pants. He really truly liked her. Tristan and I ribbed him for it, but I started seeing we were losing him. I already didn't like sharing my best friend with his brother, but I couldn't come between family, or I'd find myself friendless. I could, however, come between Ken and Lana. I hooked up with her at a party, Tristan found out, then told Ken. Ken blamed me. He'd just forgiven me when the shit with the drugs happened. That was one reason Tristan placed the order. Ken still wasn't really up to dealing with me. He thought I was trying to get back at Tristan, but I wasn't. They didn't believe me when I told them it was the dealer. It really was. I'd had a couple problems with the guy in the last couple of months, so I was angry with him. I saw him having dinner outside with his family. I don't remember thinking clearly, I just aimed and punched it. By the time I realized I was going to miss him, and hit the woman next to him, I wasn't able to stop. When they looked up just before, I couldn't help but look into his eyes." Damien was now pacing in front of her, he was getting hysterical. "I didn't know it was _them_. Tristan and Ken had their hoods up, their mom had her back to me. His aunt wasn't at the table! I'd never met his uncle! How was I supposed to know? Why would I kill my best friend or his mother? Or his uncle for that matter. I loved Terri and Tori as if they were my mother and aunt. I never meant to hurt her." He broke down crying on the floor.

Rory was compelled to hold him. He was shaking. Only Rory would hold the person who just admitted to her that he was trying to kill her best friend's uncle, unknowingly. Just then the front door swung open.

"Rory, Lorelai, you home?" Rory's head snapped up.

"Finn?"

* * *

Haha, cliffhanger. Sorry. New Chapter will ebe up as soon as possible!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Some of you made me rethink my whole story, but some of you made me realize, hell, this is _my_ story. If anyone has a problem with it, they dont have to read. I'll miss them, because some of them were my most dedicated readers, but I got 19 reviews for the last one! And I owe an extra big thank you to La, because without her, I would have completely changed the story. I'd had my chapter all ready to send when I got reviews that made me rethink everything, but in the end, La helped me, so thank you soooooooo much you are awesome. And I forgive you for forgetting the chapter, again. Lol. Inside joke. Thanks everyone. R&R.


	9. Ch8 Oh duh!

So, this one is a little short. Not too short, but. The title has little to do with the chapter, but more of a comment that my amazing beta La made when sending me back the chapter. The oh... duh! refers to Damien's idea that you will find out! Thanks to everyone who's stuck it out with me so far.

For this chapter please remember that birthcontrol makes you crazy... so Rory's slowness & OOC are completely understandable. That and sometimes everything does happen rather suddenly. Thanks again for the reviews! --Bree

_Recap -something i've forgotten recently-_

_"I didn't know it was them. Tristan and Ken had their hoods up, their mom had her back to me. His aunt wasn't at the table! I'd never met his uncle! How was I supposed to know? Why would I kill my best friend or his mother? Or his uncle for that matter. I loved Terri and Tori as if they were my mother and aunt. I never meant to hurt her." He broke down crying on the floor._

_Rory was compelled to hold him. He was shaking. Only Rory would hold the person who just admitted to her that he was trying to kill her best friend's uncle, unknowingly. Just then the front door swung open._

_"Rory, Lorelai, you home?" Rory's head snapped up._

_"Finn?"_

Chapter 8: Oh... duh!

"Love, not to jump to conclusions, but..." He paused for dramatic effect. "What the _bloody_ hell is going on here?" He said with a hint of anger. She immediately let go of Damien to jump into Finn's arms.

"Oh my god! Where have you been? Are you okay? What happened? Where's Tristan?" Rory was hysterical. Damien was attempting to hide the fact that he'd been bawling his eyes out.

"Tristan? Is here. With you. Like he was when I left. I've been in Australia…" _Slap_. Finn landed on the floor after losing his balance. "Bloody Hell." Finn gripped his cheek. "What the devil was that for?"

Rory was pissed. She stood over Finn with her hands on her hips, glaring viciously. "You've been in _AUSTRALIA_? And you couldn't _call_ and _tell_ me this? No, you let me worry my mind out trying to find you! And what the hell do you mean Tristan is here?" She continued ranting glaring at him. Things clicked in Finn's head as a look of realization crossed his face.

"You never got my note, did you love?" He asked quietly.

"What note?" Rory asked sounding defeated. All the anger just seemed to drain out of her, and suddenly, she was exhausted.

"Dear TJ & Mary. Well, I guess that's Miss Magdalene now, eh? Well, I would love to see the aftermath of this, but I've been summoned back to Australia…_immediately._ Ruby is sick again. Love, Finny. Ps. Tell Lorelai I'll miss her dearly. If I die it will be from her absence." Finn recited as if he'd just written it.

"Oh my god." Rory said softly.

"Is she okay? Ruby. Was it the cancer?" Damien asked. At some point he'd picked himself and his ego up off the floor. He sat perched on the arm rest of the couch while Rory stood like an idiot with her hand over her mouth.

Finn nodded. Then realization hit him once more. Thank god it was metaphorical or he'd be in even more pain. Who knew Gilmore could pack such a punch? "What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here?" He said, getting angry again.

"Finn. Relax. Is... Who's Ruby anyway?" She asked, looking up in confusion.

"My baby sister. She's a year or so younger than us. She has cancer. She stopped responding to treatment for a while. They didn't think she was going to make it, but she's fine now. She went back into remission." He said, relief evident in his voice. The smile on his face was one Rory had never seen before. She hugged him tightly while Finn grabbed her and held her so tightly she thought she was going to break.

"So…ummm…not to pry. What was the aftermath you wanted to see?" Damien asked once Rory and Finn had mostly separated.

"Well, Miss Mary isn't a Mary anymore. From what I gathered." Finn said, giving her a cheeky grin.

"_Finn_." She boxed him upside the head. "Thank you for sharing that with someone you hate. Thank you."

"Oh yeah. I still don't know why he's here." He said, glaring up at Damien.

"Wait, so you slept with Tristan the night he disappeared?" Damien asked, in surprise.

"Yes." Rory mumbled.

"Tristan disappeared?" Finn said, confused, looking between the two. Damien ran a hand over his face.

"Have you tried his house, his father's house, his grandfather's? His uncle's office? Your grandmother?" Damien listed off.

"Why did you say my grandmother?" Rory said, looking at him as if he sprouted a second head.

"_Because_... she's like the head of the DAR..." Damien said as if that explained it.

"Oh... my god! You are a _genius_! Let's go! Finn do you have your SUV? I don't trust his driving." She shot Damien a pointed look. He held up his hands in understanding.

"Yes, Kitten, let's go." The three shuffled out of the door into the awaiting vehicle.

While on their way to Hartford, Lorelai was still sitting in her parent's house, crying in her mothers arms. For Emily, it was bittersweet. She'd always longed to console her daughter in some way, and now she was only doing it because Lorelai was sure that Rory might be pregnant.

"Lorelai, are you sure?" Emily asked as Lorelai tried to compose herself once more.

"Y-yes. _Hiccup_ I'm sure. She won't eat junk food. All she eats is fruit. She won't drink coffee. A-and... he's not here. He just disappeared! Stupid boy! I trusted him!" Lorelai became enraged for the first time that day. Her sadness now turned into hatred for the boy who'd become like her son. "He used her. Just like I knew he would! This is why she was on the pill. So she wouldn't end up pregnant. But no! He screws her and disappears. I thought he loved her. Really loved her. But _no._ He's just another Christopher!" ding dong "And who the hell is that?" She yelled, unable to hold in her anger.

"Lorelai, what do you mean he just, disappeared?" Emily asked, suddenly.

"Mrs. Gilmore is in the sitting room with Ms. Gilmore. Who shall I tell her is here?" They heard the maid answer.

"Oh, my mother is here? We'll just go in." Rory entered the room to see Lorelai standing there fuming. Unfortunately, her anger got taken out on Finn.

"_You_. You helped in this!" She started beating up on Finn.

"Ow. Love, what the bloody... OW!" Finn yelled, holding his arms up around his head, trying to fend off Lorelai's punches.

"_Lorelai!_ Stop this. I know you are upset, but beating up Mr. Morgan won't help." Emily said, trying to get her daughter to calm down.

"See... I told you she knew everything." Damien whispered to Rory.

"She's met Finn before." Rory whispered back. At a normal interval, "Mom, why are you beating up Finn?"

"Because he helped that scumbag get you pregnant!" There was silence except her continued yelling. "And the scumbag isn't here! Only Finn is…so…" She didn't finish her rant, as she continued to beat on Finn.

"Miss Gilmore!" Damien tried to interject.

"Damien? Rory, why are you friends with Damien? He's the one who murdered Tristan's mother!" Emily said suddenly noticing the other boy who came with Rory and Finn.

"_See_." Damien shot over his shoulder as he tried to pry Lorelai off of Finn.

"I know. I know the whole story. But we need to know if you know where Tristan is." Rory tried to explain calmly to Emily. This got Lorelai to stop.

"Yeah, then I can go kill him." Lorelai said through gritted teeth.

"Mom, I am not pregnant!" Rory admonished.

"Then why are you in such a rush to find him, _huh_? Tell me you don't think you are!" Lorelai yelled, taking her anger on Rory now.

"I _don't_. It's called side effects of birth control! Which you put me on because of Tristan!" Rory yelled.

"You mean to tell me, that Tristan has been in Military school for over a month and none of you knew?" Emily interjected. The silence that followed was deadly.

"You _knew_?" Rory was scarily quiet. "_You_ _knew_!" her voice was rapidly graining volume, "You knew that he was in Military School and didn't mention it!" She yelled at full force.

"I thought perhaps it was a sore subject..." Emily said off handedly. "Besides, who am I to spread other peoples business?"

Together, the four other persons in the room, replied, "Emily Gilmore" under their breath. They began to laugh all together once they realize what they had done.

Emily opened her mouth to argue but realized it was pointless. Sobering up first, Rory asked the question burning all of their tongues. "Grandma, do you know where this Military school is?"

"Uh, yes. Janlen passed the address on to Richard a few weeks ago. He said it was in case you decided to run off and see him, we would know where to find you." Emily replied soberly.

"Well, uh, I'd like to use it to run off and see him." She asked politely. Emily nodded once, and left the room to find it.

"_Rory_." Lorlelai warned.

"Mom, I know. 'He hurt me, blah blah'. He's probably going crazy down there! I need to see him. _Please_? The three of us all need to see him. Damien needs to find him. We'll leave tomorrow after school, see him Saturday, hopefully. Come back on Sunday. If we have to, we miss school on Monday." She said, already formulating a plan Lorelai couldn't really say no to.

"You're serious? The three of you are going to drive down to..." Lorelai paused, having no idea where her daughter was going.

"North Carolina. Lorelai, should I give this to her?" Emily asked walking back into the room. Rory's eyes pleaded with her. Lorelai nodded. "Alright. Here you go Rory. Also, you are going to need this." Emily handed her a credit card with her name on it. "Your grandfather got it a few weeks ago for you. It came yesterday." Rory hugged her grandmother, whispering a thank you.

"Mom, should we head home? You and Me.. I'm sure you want to talk." Rory asked softly.

"Yeah, kid. Let's go." Lorelai said, finally able to calm down.

Rory was right about one thing though, Tristan was going crazy. He was on autopilot it seemed. His movements were automatic. Nothing he did had feeling. Dr. Ateyu noticed him getting worse. He'd already been given sixteen demerits for violence against staff and students alone. The inanimate objects had a great number of casualties. He'd been moved to a dorm room with a bed, a clock, a dresser, and a plexy glass mirror. He had no room mate. He was escorted from class to class. He opted to take his meals to his room. When he wasn't sitting around moping, he was beating the living hell out of a punching bag.

The school was specialized for anger management as well as a military school. Tristan's condition wasn't something they hadn't seen before, but then again, they'd never seen it this bad. Tristan refused to go to church of any kind. Something about forgetting the Virgin Mary exists. He flipped over a desk in geography while speaking of Australia. He threw someone's coffee on their uniform after they kept asking him if he wanted some, 'It's really good. Maybe it'll help you relax.' They offered before they were doused with it. Other than that one time, he never went near the stuff.

No one could figure out what his problem was. Dr. Ateyu tried to get in touch with his aunt or uncle. She felt the best thing for Tristan was to be home, or be allowed to call or visit home. His aunt was never home, and his uncle never returned her calls.

Their meetings were getting more and more difficult for Dr. Ateyu. She couldn't get him to open up nearly as much anymore.

"So, based on your past histories, why didn't you fight more? I was expecting you to tell me you broke the wall in defiance when you were told." She said, once again trying to get him to open up.

"I…couldn't." He muttered.

"Why?" She pushed.

"I can't hurt Terri like that. I can put Charles through as many walls as I like, but I can never do anything to intentionally upset Terri. She's hurting just as much as I am." He said, clearly annoyed.

"Why?" She asked, again trying to get him to reveal more.

"How the fuck would I know? Am I _her_?" Tristan was getting hostile again.

"Tell me about your mother." It was always a safe topic. Tristan would talk about his mother in the early years. In fact, Tristan was shutting himself off from reality. He seemed to be trying to live in the past.

He was a ticking time bomb. Because the fact remained that without Rory and Finn, he was going crazy. Sooner or later, he was going to retreat within himself and have a full mental shut down, or he may do the complete opposite and just explode. No one knew which would be safer.

The ride home was silent for the first 10 minutes, neither knowing what to say. Rory finally broke it, hurt evident in her voice, "You told grandma I was _pregnant_?"

"No. I asked Mom if she knew _I_ was pregnant before I told her. If there were signs that she picked up on." Lorelai corrected.

"I'm not pregnant." Rory pointed out.

"Have you taken a test? Have you gotten your period?" Lorelai also pointed out.

"No, but I'm on the pill, remember?" Rory stated.

"Oh. Right." Silence engulfed them once more. "Um, explain to me again, why you are going to North Carolina with two guys?" Lorelai asked.

"To see Tristan. Damien thinks something's up. He... he went to the hospital today, and Ken's awake. He's been awake for a few days, but he doesn't seem to know anything except that his mother is dead. Damien can't go alone. Since I'm the only one that believes him, I need to be there to keep Tristan from killing him. Finn needs to see how he is since he's been missing since the party also. The three of us all need Tristan for different reasons." Rory explained.

"Don't you find it odd, that Ken just so happens to wake up when Damien visits him, and Finn shows up after a month, and one of you gets the brilliant idea to finally ask grandma, and then she just happens to have his address?" Lorelai said, contemplating all the information she'd been given.

"Mom, do you believe everything happens for a reason?" Rory asked seriously.

"Yes." Lorelai responded.

"Then trust me, please?" Rory begged. Lorelai nodded in defeat.

"I guess you are taking Finn's SUV?" Lorelai asked, trying to get past the awkwardness.

"Yup. Hey, why don't we have a movie night?" Rory suggested.

"Sounds good." Lorelai answered, smiling for the first time that day.


	10. Ch9 Long Over Due

So, the unintentional wait on this is due to stupidity. I had it done and 'sent' to my beta the day after i posted the last one, but my pc was being a pain, and evidently, it never sent. So, I was waiting all week to hear back from La that she got my chapter when I finally emailed her and asked if she'd gotten it and if she was okay, etc. SHE NEVER GOT IT! I was mad... anyway, you have it now.

However, I have to mention a disclaimer: USMCAS New River is a REAL Marine Corps base. It's where one of my brother's is stationed. The military school is not real, however. I just threw it on the base like it was just a giant JROTC program, and because its in North Carolina, and I know how to get there, and the layout of Jacksonville. I don't own the base, just the school.

This is my longest chapter yet and I hope you enjoy because its definitely one of my favs. The first half is mostly filler, but I promise you will love the ending!

_Recap:_

_"Oh. Right." Silence engulfed them once more. "Um, explain to me again, why you are going to North Carolina with two guys?" Lorelai asked._

_"To see Tristan. Damien thinks something's up. He... he went to the hospital today, and Ken's awake. He's been awake for a few days, but he doesn't seem to know anything except that his mother is dead. Damien can't go alone. Since I'm the only one that believes him, I need to be there to keep Tristan from killing him. Finn needs to see how he is since he's been missing since the party also. The three of us all need Tristan for different reasons." Rory explained._

_"Don't you find it odd, that Ken just so happens to wake up when Damien visits him, and Finn shows up after a month, and one of you gets the brilliant idea to finally ask grandma, and then she just happens to have his address?" Lorelai said, contemplating all the information she'd been given._

_"Mom, do you believe everything happens for a reason?" Rory asked seriously._

_"Yes." Lorelai responded._

_"Then trust me, please?" Rory begged. Lorelai nodded in defeat._

_"I guess you are taking Finn's SUV?" Lorelai asked, trying to get past the awkwardness._

_"Yup. Hey, why don't we have a movie night?" Rory suggested._

_"Sounds good." Lorelai answered, smiling for the first time that day._

Chapter 9: Long Over Due

The next day came too quickly for Lorelai , but didn't seem to come fast enough for Rory. She'd packed the night before, while Lorelai gathered supplies. Finn would be running around all day gathering what they needed for the trip, while Rory and Damien went to school.

"Hey!" Damien called out as he ran to catch up with Rory.

"Hey. What's up?" She said as she headed for her locker.

"We have to stop by the hospital before we leave." He said, once they reached her locker.

"Okay…to see Ken?" She asked as she started getting the books she needed for her next classes.

"Yeah. Finn has our stuff right?" He asked, finally noticing the looks people were giving them. Rory was still oblivious to the looks and whispers.

"_You_ put it in the car this morning, didn't you?" She asked gaining his attention once again.

"Oh. Yeah." He was nervous. Anyone could see that.

"What's wrong?" She said, noticing his unease.

"I...you…you know he's going to put me through a wall right?" He said, so softly.

"Why?" She asked. He gave her a pointed look. "_Oh! _Right Well. I'll talk to him first." She said trying to reassure him.

"Somehow, I see that making it worse..." He mumbled. She looked up at him to interrupt when she finally noticed everyone around them.

"Relax. He won't kill... is there a reason everyone is staring at us?" She said, turning around to look at everyone. This made everyone look away and start walking to class. Damien chuckled mirthlessly.

"Um, maybe because Tristan has his claim on you still, and you're talking to the guy who killed his _mother_?" He said his voice full of sarcasm. Then added as an after thought, "_Willingly_?"

"_Oh god_!" Rory groaned.

"Don't worry." He said, as he started rubbing her slouched shoulders lightly. "One more class and then we'll be on our way to see your baby's daddy." He whispered soothingly.

Realizing the position they were in, Rory jerked away from him, before turning to glare. "I am _not_ pregnant!" She hissed quietly.

"Whatever you say, Gilmore." He said smirking. She smacked him upside the head. "_Ow_! Finn's right, you are violent all of a sudden." He pouted as he rubbed the spot she hit. She glared once more before the warning bell rang.

It seemed like an eternity before the final bell rang. Rory practically ran to her locker, dumping all school related books into it. When she exited the school, she caught up with Damien and together they ran to the black SUV sitting outside the school. Paris, Madeline, and Louise looked on confused.

"What the hell was that?" Madeline asked.

"I haven't the faintest. Paris?" Louise looked to the other girl.

"For once, Mads, you aren't the only one severely confused." Paris said, watching as the SUV took off.

In the car, Rory and Damien were discussing the best route to go while Finn drove to the hospital. "So, we take I95 straight down, until we hit 34 then we take that out to 46 and we're there." Rory said, satisfied with the route she chose.

"You realize we have to drive through the belt then right?" Damien countered.

"Yeah, so?" She replied, awaiting his response.

"That means we will be sitting in dead traffic for 6 hours, inching our way past DC in Virginia." Damien whined.

"_But_ if we get off 95, it'll take just as much time, and by the time we get there, it'll be about twelve anyway. There won't be that much traffic. Besides, it takes about 6 hours to get through Virginia anyway." She replied all in one breath.

"Rory has a point, mate. We should just stay on 95." Finn finally chimed in, as he pulled into a spot in the hospital parking lot.

"_Fine_. Whatever. I'm not the one whose driving anyway." Damien said dejectedly as he made his way out of the car. Both Finn and Rory told him he wasn't allowed to.

"Come on. Let's get this show on the road already." He said, as Finn ushered them into the hospital.

As soon as they got to his room, Ken's face lit up. "Hey." He said, happy to see someone other than his uncle.

"Hey." Damien responded.

"Ah, so he doesn't know that he hates you, huh?" Finn asked. Rory smacked him.

"Finn!" She scolded.

"Ow. Bloody Hell you are getting violent!" He whined.

"Anyway!" She turned her attention to Ken. She walked to the bed and stood next to him. "I'm Rory Gilmore, your- Tristan's... something. I really don't know." Finn and Damien both coughed their opinions, 'Baby's Momma'. She just glared at them.

"My name wouldn't happen to really be Tristan would it?" Ken asked, with a hopeful look in his eyes. Rory looked confused and shook her head saying "_No_."

"Why do you ask?" She asked, as her innocent curiosity got the best of her.

"Because you're beautiful." He replied honestly, causing her to blush. This in turn caused him to say, "And maybe a Mary of sorts?" Tears immediately sprung to her eyes. She quickly turned away from him, as Finn wrapped his arms around her. "What did I say?" Ken asked, confused by her sudden distress.

"Okay, Ken. You have to listen and listen good, okay?" Damien said in a tone letting him know that this was important.

"Okay..." Ken replied, in a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"What I'm going to tell you, you can't let Charles know." Damien said.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"Because…I think we know why he won't tell you who Tristan is…and you're gonna to hate me when you meet Tristan…because he'll tell you everything. I promise he will." Damien said, trying to assure him.

"O...kay?" Ken replied. If he was confused before, he was really confused now.

"Tristan is your brother." Damien supplied. This earned a gasp of surprise from Ken, his eyes, wide in shocked. As soon as he knew Ken believed him, Damien continued. "He got shipped off to military school without anyone knowing. We just found out yesterday. We're going down there to see him, and hopefully, bring him back with us. Look…" Damien said, running a hand nervously through his hair. "…shit's not right up here, so, you can't tell Charles. Okay? Please, trust me?" He begged.

"Why should I trust you if I'm supposed to hate you?" Ken asked, narrowing his eyes, remembering what the Aussie had said earlier.

"Because we used to be best friends before I got jealous and let a girl come between us." Damien answered. Ken eyes flickered to Rory. Damien shook his head. "No." He looked over at Rory as well, "_She's_ Tristan's. Look if we aren't back by Tuesday, you can tell Charles that you know who Tristan is. Okay?"

"Okay." Ken replied, trying to digest all the information he'd just been given. There was still so much he didn't know, but this was enough for now. At least now he knew who Tristan was. Damien nodded, relieved that so far their plan seemed to be going well.

"Now, we have a long drive ahead of us. See you Tuesday." Damien slapped hands with Ken. Finn shook his hand as well. Rory leaned over and hugged him.

"I'm sorry about whatever I said to make you cry..." Ken said honestly, still feeling bad about earlier.

"It's fine. Tristan calls me Mary as a pet name. I just miss him." She said, smiling sadly.

"Oh. Tell him, something for me?" He asked in a soft voice. The boys had already left the room. It was just them. She nodded. "Tell him it's not his fault." Rory's eyes immediately flew up to his. He looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I... I keep hearing things…and I keep hearing this voice…crying to me…telling me he's sorry. That it's his fault. I have a feeling…that it's Tristan." He finished, looking up at her sheepishly.

"Oh. Okay. Well…" She said, as she realized the guys had left the room. "It's nice to finally meet you officially. I'll see you soon, hopefully with Tristan." She smiled as best as she could, trying to force back the tears. They hugged again before she left the room as well.

Rory fell asleep almost as soon as they left Connecticut. She woke up a few hours later, after they had just left New Jersey. Sitting up she looked around and saw nothing but a grayish white mist around what appeared to be a bridge or some similar structure.

"Are we dead?" She asked seriously, her voice still thick with sleep. Damien and Finn burst out laughing. The sun was setting as they drove, and the fog on either side of the bridge was thick, causing the bridge they were crossing to have an unnatural look.

"No, love. We aren't dead. That's fog." Finn said, once he contained his laughter.

"Oh." She said softly. They could both tell she was blushing.

"S'all right, kitten. Go back to sleep." Finn said gently.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Around 8, why?" He asked as he looked at her from the rearview.

"I'm…" The sound of her stomach rumbling, cut her off. They all started laughing.

"There's a rest stop up a head. Taco Bell good?" Finn asked.

"Umm. I don't know. Yeah, that's sounds good." She said as she looked down at her stomach as if talking to it.

"Are you arguing with yourself?" Damien asked, chuckling slightly.

"No." She glared again.

"Ow." He shrieked. Finn looked at him oddly. "She kicked my elbow!" Damien whined.

"Rory!" Finn tried to scold her, but it just wasn't working. He was laughing too hard.

Forty minutes later they were back on the road, but this time, Rory was driving. She'd put her PJ Harvey CD in. As she was singing along, Damien just watched her, fascinated. Not a word was spoken until she replaced the CD some time later. As the sounds of the Clash entered the car, Damien finally spoke.

"You're odd." He said as he continued to study her.

"Thank you." She replied happily, looking at the road ahead. He shook his head lightly with amusement.

"You really are one of a kind aren't you?" He asked with slight admiration. She flashed him a smile before answering.

"Sort of. My mother and I are Ying and Yang. Exact same yet polar opposites." She responded, before turning back to the road.

"Oh, so you are _two_ of a kind?" He said, his voice clearly amused. This time it was her turn to laugh.

"I guess." She answered.

"I can see why he's in love with you." He said, suddenly getting serious. Rory looked uncomfortable and chose not to answer. She turned up Guns of Brixton, letting its sounds fill the car once more. Damien looked out the window with an unreadable expression.

He wouldn't fall for her. He couldn't. His infatuation was only because of her understanding and forgiving nature. Nothing else. But she was the essence of beauty and perfection. _No_. He would not do that to Tristan. He won't. Unless he already did.

Many, many hours and awkward silences later, Rory woke Finn up with her joyful screech and bouncing.

"Ooh! Ooh! We're in Jacksonville!" She shouted out happily, sounding as if she'd just won the lottery.

"Why do I suddenly have Limp Bizkit running through my head?" Finn remarked half asleep.

"Finn! Wake! Up!" She stressed each word with more enthusiasm than needed.

"I'm bloody up. _What_?" He shouted, clearly not amused. Thankfully, it was still early so the wretched sun wasn't out yet.

Still way too excited, she replied, "We're in _Jacksonville_." as if it explained it.

"I got that part, Love. What is so special about said town?" He said, taking in their surroundings.

"Well there are at least two military bases within an hour of here..." She said, avoiding answering his question with an impish grin.

"_And_...?" He asked. She laughed realizing it really was too early for Finn, so she decided to put him out of his misery.

"_New River_ is in Jacksonville." She said, thinking he'd finally get why she was so excited.

Finn replied with a simple "Oh." in understanding, before adding, "What the bloody hell does that matter!"

"Tristan's school... is New River Marine Corps Military Academy." She said, rolling her eyes. Finally, realization dawned on him, "_OH!"_

"So _this_ is a military town?" Finn muttered as they all looked around. It seemed like the town was on a single highway that stretched on forever with stores, restaurants and hotels. Small houses lined the street behind the tiny businesses while large stores and restaurants lined the other side. They all had to laugh as they saw the Loew's Hardware and the Wal-Mart superstore. They all had heard stories of how the local Wal-Mart's were like Malls to Northerner's.

As they drove, they saw the bowling ally, the 3 theater Movie Theater, the local Food Lion, and other such Southern Novelties.

"Well, Totos, we're _so_ not in Kansas anymore." Rory remarked.

"Did she just call us her vicious lap dogs?" Finn asked, looking at Damien.

"And she said the wrong state." Damien mused. Rory smiled at the two and rolled her eyes.

"Can you believe we're really here?" Rory asked in awe.

"No..." Damien whispered. They were outside the base, just looking at the sign. The sign said Marine Corp Air Station: New River, and right below it, New River Marine Corps Military Academy.

"You mean...we have to go on... a really Marine Corps base?" Finn said softly, his voice cracking toward the end in nervousness.

"I guess..." Rory swallowed.

As they entered, an armed guard came up to the window. Rory swallowed again as she rolled down the window.

"Good Morning, ma'am. How can I help you?" He said as he took in the sight of the three teens. She had no idea what his rank was, but the name on his badge said Waite.

"Actually, Mr. uh Waite? We're here to visit a friend of ours. He attends the military school." She asked nervously.

"Do you have a visitor's pass?" He asked.

"Um, no." She said, looking at the steering wheel.

"Alright, ma'am. Please pull over there and then go into that building. You need a visitor's pass for the base, and another one allowing you onto the school campus." Waite said, pointing towards an administration building.

"Thank you." Rory pulled over to the side. "Finn, I need a license, registration, and you. Let's go."

"Am I going to be frisked, as well?" Finn asked mischievously.

"_Finn_." She warned.

"Fine. Fine." He retrieved the necessary items and headed inside with her. There they saw another Marine behind a counter.

"Hi. We need a visitor's pass for the school?" Rory asked sweetly once she reached the counter.

"I need ID for both you and the vehicle, ma'am. As well as your purpose for entering the campus grounds." He asked, looking at both teens.

"We're here to visit a friend." Finn supplied.

"Do you have a visitor's pass?" He asked.

"Isn't that why I'm here?" Rory looked mildly agitated. All she wanted was to see Tristan.

"Without a visitor's pass prior to arrival, I can only grant family members on base in emergencies." The marine said apologetically.

"Well, do you consider his girlfriend coming to tell him that his brother woke up from a coma and his uncle isn't telling anyone, not even the boy's father? An emergency?" Rory said a bit sarcastically. She was really starting to get annoyed. She didn't come all this way just to be sent away. She was too close now.

"I'll call the school's office and see what I can do." He offered, noticing her distress. He picked up the phone and dialed an extension.

"New River Military Academy. Corporal Wancea speaking ." The person from the school answered.

"Wancea, it's Sierra up at the visitor's center. I have a slight situation." He said, taking a glance at Rory and Finn, noticing the hope in their eyes.

"How do you have a situation that effects the school?" Wancea asked, rolling his eyes. 

"I have a girlfriend wanting to tell her boyfriend some very important news." Sierra replied.

"Does she have a pass?" Wancea asked in a bored tone. 

"No. Which is why I'm calling you. Apparently, his brother woke up from a coma, but his family isn't sharing the information." Sierra answered, hoping Wancea would help him out. He really felt bad for these kids.

"That's a family matter. We can't get involved. Tell her she has to go home or the cadet will have to give her a pass on his next liberty." Wancea said, with a hint of an apology. Seeing the look of apology on Sierra's face, Rory's shoulder's slumped in defeat. 

Rory was on the verge of tears when Damien entered. "Can we go see DuGrey, yet?" He asked impatiently.

"Ma'am, they can't let you on the campus…"Sierra began.

"Wait, what was that name?" Wancea asked, having heard a little of the conversation in the background. 

"What was that name, sir?" Sierra asked, now looking at Damien.

Damien looked bewildered for a moment. "DuGrey?"

"DuGrey, sir." Sierra said into the phone.

"Hold on. Let me transfer you over to Dr. Ateyu. He's the one they've had so much trouble with. If she okays it, let them on campus." Wancea said, his bored tone immediately changed to one of action. 

"Aye, sir." Sierra said, a little confused by the sudden change in attitude.

"Hello?" The frazzled voice of a woman came over the phone. "This is Dr. Ateyu." 

"Dr. Ateyu, this is Lance Corporal Sierra at the visitor's center. I have a few people wanting to go on campus to see one of your patients. Cadet DuGrey." Sierra responded.

"Really? Who?" She sounded even more frazzled.

"What are your names?" He asked the teens who had originally asked for the passes.

"Finnegan Morgan & Rory Gilmore." Finn answered. Sufficed with their names, he turned back to the phone.

"A Finnegan Morgan and Rory Gilmore." He told the doctor.

"Really! That's great. Send them to the campus chapel. DuGrey's there. And I'll be there in a moment." Dr. Ateyu responded in an urgent manner, relief was evident in her voice. 

"Yes, ma'am." He hung up the phone. "Here." He scrawled out a visitor's pass. "Continue down the main road. Take a left at the fork, and then the second right. Once you are on the school grounds, turn left again. There is a chapel. Go there. Cadet DuGrey and Dr. Ateyu will be waiting inside for you." He said as he handed them the paperwork they would need to get onto the campus.

"Thank you." Rory exclaimed reaching over the desk and hugging the man. Sierra was surprised by her reaction, but gently patted her on the shoulder. "_Oh_, sorry." Rory blushed, when she realized what she had done, before grabbing the pass and running out of the door. The other two followed with _Thank you's _being thrown over their shoulders.

All three were nervous. Finn had to drive as Rory wouldn't stop bouncing with anticipation. Finally pulling into the gravel parking spaces in front of the chapel, they all sighed and took a deep breath.

"Well, here goes." Rory said climbing out of the passenger's seat.

As they entered the church, the sight they were met with was not one Rory was expecting.

Tristan was sitting on a pew bench in front of a statue of Mary, shaking, with something clasped between his hands. Rory gasped in concern, and tried to move toward him, but an armed Marine stopped her.

"Ma'am, for your own safety, we have to ask that you stay back." He said gently, but there was still a resolve in his voice that let them know he wasn't joking. Rory looked fear stricken.

"Why? What's _wrong_ with him! What's wrong with my boyfriend?" She cried hysterically at the poor Marines.

"You must be Rory, no?" A short woman dressed in an Officer's uniform approached them. She had ice on her hand. Rory nodded. "I'm Dr. Ateyu. Tristan's been coming to see me since he started here. I've heard much about you and Finn. The reason you are being told to stay back is because he's on the edge of a mental breakdown. When I approached him, he smacked my hand off of his shoulder. Hence, the ice." She said holding up her hand.

"What's with the armed guards?" Damien asked, taking in the soldiers' presence.

"They're for our protection, as well as his own." She sighed. "When Tristan first arrived at the school, he had a few minor incidents. During our sessions all he spoke of was Rory, then Rory and Finn. Little by little he opened up more and more. Until, he started to stop speaking of you. As you didn't return his letters…" The doctor was cut off from her explanation.

"What letters?" Rory and Finn asked at the same time.

"_What_? He must have sent you at least fifteen letters by now. You never received them?" She asked looking between Finn and Rory.

"Well, I've been in Australia since he was shipped off apparently." Finn said, taking a look at Tristan's shaking form.

"I haven't received any letters from him either, and I'm the one who brings in all our mail." Rory said, looking the doctor in the eye.

"_Oh my_. That explains quite a bit. I think perhaps..." The doctor paused to glance at Tristan, then as if remembering something, she quickly turned to look at Rory. "Ms. Gilmore should talk to him. She's dealt with an upset Tristan before, as I was told?" The doctor asked, looking hopeful. Rory looked up at the doctor then at Tristan before responding.

"Yes. At his mother's grave, he, well he started to freak out and wouldn't listen to me or let me touch him at all." Rory said softly.

"But you got through to him?" The doctor pushed.

"Yes." Rory replied, her eyes glued to Tristan's form.

"Then, please. _Try_. I don't think he'll hurt you if you get him to look in your eyes. He says that every time he's hurt you when in his rages, he can always remember your eyes, and that's something that helps prevent the rages from coming." Dr. Ateyu explained.

"Okay. I'll try." Rory said, finally looking up at the doctor.

Rory stepped toward him after Finn let go of her hand with a gentle squeeze. All eyes were on her as she approached him.

"Just wanna go back. Change everything. Wanna go back." Tristan was repeating it softly to himself.

"Tristan? Baby?" She knelt in front of him, trying to catch his eye, but his eyes were trained on the empty coffee cup in his hands. She wouldn't touch him yet…she couldn't. She knew better.

"_Baby_. Rory's pregnant. I know she is. I _know_ she is. It's my fault. _All_ my fault. I wanna go back. Change everything. Can I go back, please?" He was pleading with himself, his voice coming out as a sob.

"Tristan. I'm right here. I'm not pregnant. I promise." She swallowed the lump in her throat while saying it. "Baby, look at me. Look at Mary. _Your Mary_. Look at her…look at _me_." She pleaded, her voice breaking at the sight of him. He looked up at her. The moment his eyes connected with hers he was suddenly brought back to reality.

His voice hitched as his whispered her name. "Mary? Is that really you?" He was shaking still, but not in the rocking motion he'd been earlier. Shaking as if he was cold…numb. He reached out and touched her face. She leaned into his touch while clasping his hand in hers.

"It's me, baby, I'm here. I'm real." She sobbed, no longer able to hold back her tears. She was just so happy to be with him.

"Mary." He breathed, before kneeling in front of her and sweeping her into his arms in one quick motion. His body began wracking with sobs, as he cried holding her tightly to him. Rory cried her own tears of relief as they held each other.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I'm _so_ sorry, baby." She cried, as she continually ran her hands through his hair in soothing motions, placing butterfly kisses against his cheek, his neck, his shoulder, wherever she could. They each had held so much in, waiting till they could see the other. All of it was coming out now with each sob, each tear, each kiss, each whisper of love and apology. They each held on to the other so tightly not wanting to let go, for fear if they did, the other would disappear. The guards, Dr. Ateyu, Finn and Damien watched in awe, as they watched the scene before them. They all knew it wasn't over. Not by a long shot. There was still so much to do, so much to say. For now, they let the two have their moment, to heal. They would need their strength for what was about to come.

_So, I hope you liked it. And the 'Are We Dead' is a commented I made when waking up going over a bridge on the drive down to New River back in April. My mother just looked at me. The second comment to that should be in another chapter! It's like an inside joke between my mother and I that I'm sharing with you because I find it hilarious! _

_Anyway, so _

_-Ken's awake._

_-The teens find Tristan_

_-Tristan's almost gone crazy_

_-Rory swears she's not pregnant, but is she?_

_-What is Charles hiding?_

_-Will Ken keep his promise to not tell Charles?_

_-Where are Janlan and Terri?_

_-How will Tristan react to Damien, the news, and the secrets?_

All coming soon in Nightmare! Stay tuned and review. Guesses at the answers are always fun to read! -Bree


	11. Ch10 Truth About Lying

Sorry if this sucks. I wrote it while I had a migrane. Well, this chap is mostly filler. THe next one sets everything in motion. Tristan sees Ken! So, enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chap. 21 reviews for that chapter! That made my day. And, thanks to La for beta'ing, and dealing with my headache-y self.

_Recap:_

_"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I'm so sorry, baby." She cried, as she continually ran her hands through his hair in soothing motions, placing butterfly kisses against his cheek, his neck, his shoulder, wherever she could. They each had held so much in, waiting till they could see the other. All of it was coming out now with each sob, each tear, each kiss, each whisper of love and apology. They each held on to the other so tightly not wanting to let go, for fear if they did, the other would disappear. The guards, Dr. Ateyu, Finn and Damien watched in awe, as they watched the scene before them. They all knew it wasn't over. Not by a long shot. There was still so much to do, so much to say. For now, they let the two have their moment, to heal. They would need their strength for what was about to come._

Chapter 10: The Truth About Lying

A Rory and Tristan held each other, the jaws of the other members of the room were on the floor. No one really expected her to be able to get through to him, let alone be able to do it so quickly. Finn and Damien recovered first, while Dr. Ateyu had to shake herself a few times. The MP's stood there slack-jawed for quite some time.

There was no way the guy who had to be escorted for the protection of others was sitting there crying, clinging to a young woman. They'd seen some crazy shit, but this…this was unbelievable.

"That's not possible. You can't just... that's not possible!" One of the MP's sputtered, once he was able to find his voice.

"How did she... there's no way to do... what the hell?" The other MP ranted.

"_Boys_." Dr. Ateyu warned the two before turning to the three visitors. "Now, which one of you is Finn?" Finn was watching Rory and Tristan with a soft grin. Damien let her know who Finn was. "Mr. Morgan." She called out. No response.

"_Finn_." Damien yelled, as he smacked him in the back of the head.

"_Ow_! I think Rory's rubbing off on you! What's with the 'let's beat on Finn' party?" Finn whined.

"Now that I have your attention." Dr. Ateyu said tersely. "Is she..." She motioned with her hands before trailing off, "Who the hell are you?" She asked Damien.

"I'm Damien, ma'am." He responded politely.

"_Damien_? As in the boy who killed Tristan's mother?" Dr. Ateyu had a look on her face of pure disbelief.

Damien blushed slightly, and turned away from her. "Yes, but he's reforming. He's actually the reason RG was finally able to find lover boy." Finn replied, gesturing to the two who still sat hugging each other, aware of no one else's presence but their own.

"Well then. I suggest we keep him out of site until we can make sure Tristan is stable or he might do something rash..." Dr. Ateyu suggested, giving the young couple a worried glance.

"Like put me through a wall?" Damien supplied. "As he's done a few times already."

"Yes... something like that." She shook her head as if clearing it. "Okay, so..." she trailed off as she saw a new development between Tristan and Rory.

Rory had been holding on to Tristan, whispering soothing words to him when suddenly he pulled back. He retreated into a ball, rocking back and forth once more.

"You're…" His voice cracked. "You're not real. You can't be. She doesn't love me. She doesn't care anymore." He whispered half to himself, half to the 'imaginary' girl before him.

"I _am_ real! Tristan! I _do_ love you. I _do_ care." She was crying again, her words coming out watery due to the sobs she was unable to hold back. The tears began to pool in her eyes once more.

"No you _aren't_!" He whispered. "I sent her letters. _So_ many letters…and she never wrote back. _Never_." His voice took on a hurt and angry tone. Rory quickly thought that in his state, he might respond to her if she spoke in the third person.

"Are you _sure_ she got them?" She asked softly.

"_Yes_!" He was like a defiant two year old. "I wrote them _perfectly_. _Absolutely_ perfectly. Rory Gilmore, 2 Rooster Road, Stars Hallow, CT, 17165." His voice took on an almost pouting quality.

Rory's brow furrowed with confusion. He sent it to the right address. Even if he didn't, Kirk knew where she lived.

"She never got them, baby." She said as she slowly reached out to rub his back. He didn't flinch at her touch, instead he seemed to melt into it.

"Who _are_ you?" He whispered, not looking at her. He was positive she wasn't really Rory.

"Mary." She said sweetly, as she smiled at him.

"That's what I call her." He said, finally looking up and meeting her eyes.

"I know. She sent me here." She said, still speaking in a very soft soothing voice.

"Why?" He looked up into her eyes once more, something stirring in him.

"To tell you she loves you, and that she misses you. That she had no idea where you went, and that she's been trying to find you for weeks. She's hurting just as much you are. She needs you as much as you need her." She said, as two tears escaped, and ran down her cheeks.

"Is she _coming_? Is she _here_?" He asked looking at her still, watching her.

"She's here. All you have to do is believe it." She whispered. As she watched him, she saw something flicker in his eyes. She knew she was close. She just had to reach him somehow.

"Tell me something only she would know." He said, narrowing his eyes in distrust. She smiled.

"Your favorite place in Stars Hallow is the pond behind the inn?" She supplied.

He frowned. "Lorelai and Sookie know that." He said, almost pouting.

"Okay. _Oh_! The night you made love to her," she blushed remembering that night, "You had on navy blue Joe Boxers with little coffee cups on it. The ones she bought you to make you an official Gilmore Girl associate. The first ever Gilmore Guy." She proudly and smiled at both memories.

He smiled slightly. "I forgot about that." He smiled softly. Then frowned, and said rather seriously, "I think I burned those."

She let out breath that was supposed to be a laugh, but came out sounding more like a gasp of surprise. "Why?" She asked smiling.

"Because I didn't want to be reminded of you." His voice dropped again.

"Oh." She said softly. "Well, we'll buy you knew ones, okay?" He nodded.

"So, you never got any of my letters?" He still had that little boy voice, but she'd gotten through to him.

"Nope, and neither did Finn. He was in Australia. Ruby relapsed." Tristan's head snapped up.

"Is she okay?" He said, no longer sounding like a little lost boy.

"Yeah. He actually left before you did. He left us a note that we never received while we were... sleeping I hope." Rory made a mental note to make Finn clarify that.

"But you're not pregnant?" He asked hopeful. He sat there holding his breath.

"I... I'm not sure. I don't think so. I mean, I'm on birth control, so I don't know." She said, looking down at her hands. Tristan cursed under his breath.

"Well, if you are. I'll be there. I promise." He held her hand tightly in his. He relaxed out of his ball by now, but was still a bit stand off-ish.

"I know." She said giving him a small smile.

"What took you so long to find me?" He asked. The question had been burning his tongue for sometime now. He couldn't help the edge of bitterness his voice held.

"I tried to call you. I couldn't get in touch with you or Finn, so I figured I'd see you on Monday at school. Well by Friday I was really worried and showed up at your house. The maid shut the door in my face. When I tried to call, I was hung up on. Even Mom called and she got hung up on. The last time I showed up at your house, Charles told me to go home and not come back, in no uncertain terms. I even tried to call your grandfather's but again, I was hung up on." She explained.

"Why?" Tristan didn't really believe her. "I don't understand. Why would they do that. Well, Charles, I do understand, but Gramps?" He looked at her in serious confusion. "None of his letters mentioned you calling him."

"I never spoke to him. It was always the maid that hung up on me. He actually had a hand in aiding us to find you. See, I never thought to go to his house. Not after what happened at yours. Then Damien came over acting all weird. I can't really explain it…" Tristan cut her off as soon as he heard Damien's name.

"_Damien_? Like Ken's best friend? Like the guy who killed my mother, Damien?" Tristan looked angry.

"Um, yes." She said meekly. She smiled inwardly however, noting that he acknowledged Damien as Ken's best friend before calling him his mother's murderer, and also using best friend in the present tense.

"Why?" His voice was rising.

"Because he wanted to know where you were. He needed to talk to you. I promise I wouldn't have brought him here if it wasn't important!" She spoke quickly, trying to calm him down.

He leapt to his feet.

"He's _here_!" Tristan yelled, not at her, but down in her general direction. Rory stood as well, looking over his shoulder at Finn pleadingly.

Dr. Ateyu cursed. Her plan hadn't even lasted 30 seconds. Tristan had seen her look and whipped around to see Finn coming towards him. Damien was hiding behind the guards.

"Tristan _please_. He needs to tell you something. Please, calm down. You're _scaring_ me." The last part she had said in a pleading whisper. She had never seen him so angry. The only time that even came close was the day Damien came to Chilton, and that day she'd been scared too.

At her words he instantly relaxed, and turned to look at her. He could see the fear still present in her eyes and he nearly died. Slowly, he reached out to touch her cheek. She didn't flinch, she just stood there and let him do whatever it was he was going to do, knowing he wouldn't hurt her. He cupped her cheek and took a step closer to her. With one hand now on her cheek and the other on her hip, he gazed down into her deep blue pools.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean to.. I didn't mean to scare you."

The guards' were stunned once again.

"How the fuck?" One of them muttered.

"_Gentlemen_." Dr. Ateyu warned again. "You are in a chapel for Christ's sake!"

"I know, Tris." She wrapped her hands around his again, leaning into his touch.

"Why is he here?" He asked in a pained voice, leaning his forehead against hers.

"You promise not to put him through a wall if I let you talk to him?" Rory asked seriously.

He smiled faintly at her. He remembered a similar conversation with her after she'd broken up with Dean. Tristan saw Dean walking and made to go talk to him. Rory pulled him back. She made him promise he wouldn't hit him or throw him through anything. Which he didn't. He tripped him after their conversation was done.

"I promise." He smirked. She smiled. She'd missed his smirk. "I won't trip him either." He added cheekily.

"Can we get out of this bloody church?" Finn interrupted. Tristan was awakened from the spell he and Rory had been under.

"Finn! Where the fuck have you been?" Tristan asked, turning to face him.

"Australia. Ruby…" Finn began to explain.

"Rory mentioned it." He didn't want to hear it again. Ruby was like a sister to him. She was often sick as a child, until she was finally diagnosed and moved back to Australia. Tristan and Finn were often with her, cheering her up.

The boys shared a look and embraced in a brotherly hug. They held each other tightly. Most would never see the two share this much emotion with another man again. After they separated, Tristan made a face.

"I have guy germs now!" He cringed and shivered as though her were disgusted.

"You _are_ a guy." Rory pointed out. Tristan grabbed her hand, pulling her into him, and wrapping his arms around her.

"True…but I only have my germs and female ones." He said with a smirk. Rory raised an eyebrow at his response. "_Okay_, my germs and _your_ germs." He amended. She smiled and leaned up to kiss his nose, but he had other ideas. He caught her lips in his own. She was caught off guard at first, but quickly melted into the kiss. A minute or so later, Finn cleared his throat.

"Finn, are you aware of what you've just done?" Tristan asked. Finn raised an eyebrow. "You just interrupted one of the best kisses of my life!" Finn got a weird look on his face and turned on his heel. A few seconds later, both boys were running and laughing. One of the guards made to go after them when Rory stopped them.

"He's fine. You can relax. He won't kill Finn. Oh, and Damien, he promises not put you through any walls." She said with a small laugh.

Damien sighed in relief and continued to watch in amusement as Tristan chased Finn. Finn ran behind Rory.

"Rory, love, save me!" He ducked behind her. Tristan stopped short in front of her.

"That's not _fair_! You can't hide behind _my_ girlfriend!" Tristan said, practically whining.

"Well then, that sucks for you!" Finn stuck out his tongue.

"Mare, would you mind moving? _Please_?" He asked sweetly.

"Hmm... no." She smiled and Tristan smirked back. Before she realized what was happening, Tristan had lifted her by the hips and moved her, and grabbed Finn, putting him in a head lock.

After a while they finally retreated to Dr. Ateyu's office. Tristan sat on a couch with Rory on his lap. The two were caught up in mindless chatter and banter. They looked young and innocently in love. As if none of the drama surrounding them existed. Finn sat next to them, making the occasional comment. Damien sat on a chair facing them, next to Dr. Ateyu, who also sat in a chair.

"_Ahem_. Shall we?" She said clearing her throat. Everyone looked up at her. Rory tried to get up to sit in a proper seat, but Tristan held her in place with a hand around her waist. He mouthed 'please?' to her. She conceded and stayed where she was. "Good. Now Rory, I'm curious as to what took so long, and how you finally managed to get here?" The doctor asked as looked at Rory.

"Well. Everytime I called Tristan's house, his grandfather's house, his grandfather's office, anywhere, I was hung up on. Each time I went to his house, the door was promptly shut it my face. The last time his uncle answered, and told me not to come back. Finn wasn't around so I was on my own. I didn't think to go to his grandfather's because I guess I thought I'd have the door shut in my face there too, and I didn't know where his house was. Finally, Thursday, everything just...fell into place. Damien came over rather jumpy, wanting to know where Tristan was. I didn't know. We got into another conversation, when Finn walked into my house. Well, he had no idea Tristan wasn't around either. He'd been in Australia since earlier the night of the party." She took a breath and looked around the room to make sure everyone was on the same page before continuing.

"The three of us began talking at once, trying to figure out what happened. Damien if I had tried anyone else, and quickly went through a list of people I could have contacted. One being my grandmother. I never thought to call there. So we showed up at my grandmother's, and she had his address. Why she never mentioned this earlier is beyond me. But apparently Janlan had passed it on a few weeks prior in case I 'suddenly ran off', then they'd know where to look. The next day after school... we headed down I95 and now here we are." She finished as she looked around the room for reactions.

"Why would his grandfather have given your grandmother his address if he wouldn't answer your calls? Or why didn't he tell you himself? Tristan, you mentioned to your grandfather to tell Rory, didn't you?" Dr. Ateyu asked.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Mar. It just... it doesn't sound like a feasible story." Tristan apologized.

"You're right. I doesn't. It makes no sense." Rory agreed, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Perhaps we should throw in Damien's piece of the puzzle." Finn suggested.

"Yes. Why _is_ Damien here?" Dr. Ateyu asked.

"Well, Thursday, I went to the hospital, to you know, see Ken. When I walked through his doors, he was staring back at me. Tris..." He paused, looking him in the eye, "Ken's awake."

The look on Tristan's face was one of pure disbelief. He couldn't process what he was currently feeling. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. Happiness. Guilt. Disappointment. Relief. Confusion. It was odd that, upon hearing of his brother's awakening, he'd feel anything but happiness and relief. The words passing through his lips should not be the ones that did. Nor should they be soft, quiet, and broken, with tears forming in his eyes. "_You're lying_."


	12. Ch11 Reunited At Last

Chapter 11: Reunited At Last

"You're lying you have to be! Terri would have called the school and let me come home!" He was getting hysterical. "Why are you doing this to me? Haven't you done enough?" He screamed, as his body began to shake again.

"Tristan... he's not lying to you." Rory turned to look him in the face. "Tristan, I've seen him, I've spoken to him." Her eyes and voice were pleading. "Except for Charles he knows no one. Listen to him. _Please_." She had tears in her eyes.

It was killing her that he couldn't trust. Couldn't believe her. She felt a piece of her heart dying, and it was a horrible feeling. One that no one should have to feel.

"Tristan…of the many things we've fought about or disagreed upon. The one thing we've always had in common was our love for Ken. Why would I want to hurt you anymore than I already have? Even _that_ wasn't intentional. _Please_. Ken... _Ken needs_ _you_." Damien begged. "He has no idea who you are. All he kept asking was _'Who is Tristan?'_ His first thought was _'Are Mom and Tristan alright.'_ But he doesn't know who you are. We told him yesterday that you're his brother. Of course that was after he hit on Rory..." He said, rolling his eyes and jerking his head toward Rory. Tristan cracked a smile. 'Same old Ken.' He thought. Seeing this as a good sign, Damien continued. "He wants to meet you. Wants to see you. Look… something's not right back home. You can see for yourself. Rory's story has a lot of holes, but she's telling the truth. I called your house first, and as soon as I asked for you I was hung up on. That's why I went to Rory." Damien finished, taking a deep breath, anxiously awaiting Tristan's reaction.

He sat there silently pleading with Tristan. He did not want to do this, he hoped what he had just disclosed would be enough. He did not want to tell Tristan the truth, but he had to. It was the only way to make Tristan truly understand and trust him. He sighed, steeling himself for the next words out of his mouth. "I, also have to come clean...about what happened that night...well. About everything I guess." He sighed.

"It's okay, Damien. Take your time." Dr. Ateyu encouraged.

"Lana. I was afraid if... If Ken had a girlfriend we'd never spend time with him anymore. That everything would be different. I wanted to know what was so special about her. I ended up sleeping with her. I didn't mean to. I mean, what was I supposed to say to Ken. _'Oh, that girl's a whore, I hooked up with her at a party last week.'_ when I knew damn well who she was. I was just going to improvise. _'Oh, I saw her going upstairs with a guy when I went up with some chick.' _but, Tristan was the one going up with some chick. He saw me going upstairs with Lana. He told Ken. I don't hate you for that, Tris. Anyone who saw would've told him. It was well known that he liked her. I just..." He took another deep breath and began to shake from all the emotions he'd been holding in.

"It's okay, Damien." Rory comforted from across the circle. She was still situated on Tristan's lap, running her fingers soothingly through his hair.

"Then... the drugs. I gave you exactly what the dealer gave me. He found out I was 17 and decided to keep fucking with me. He knew I couldn't go to the cops or anything. He was the only dealer in our area. _'Spoiled, rich kids shouldn't go downtown with a lot of money on them.'_ So I told him off, and we kept doing business. Well, that night, he decided to fuck with me again. I didn't even think to check it before giving it to you." Damien's head was in his hands. Had anyone looked closely, they'd see the tears stinging his eyes. Suddenly, he looked up, not really looking at anyone or anything, a dazed look gracing his features.

"One day, I was driving. I saw the dealer, he was a bit of an idiot I knew what he looked like... anyway." He said, shaking his head, and looking back down. "So I see him having dinner with some people. There was a woman, and two people with their hoods up. I couldn't see the woman, she had her back to me. I don't know what came over me, I punched the accelerator. By the time I realized I wasn't going to hit him, but the woman next to him, the brakes weren't going to work. Then, the hoods turned, as did the woman. You have no idea what it feels like to kill the person who's been just like a mother to you, with your best friend staring you dead in the eye, before he's sent flying." At this point, he'd brought his knees to his chest and tried to stop the tears. It wasn't working.

Tristan gently lifted Rory off of him, and placed her on Finn. She began to protest, worried he'd do something rash. He silently held up his hand to assure her that he was fine. He then walked over and squatted in front of Damien.

"Look at me." He demanded, but in a quiet tone. Damien lifted his bleary eyes to Tristan's cold ones. "You mean to tell me that you were trying to kill _Charles_? That _he's_ the drug dealer?"

Damien kept his gaze, never wavering. "Yes."

"Why did you lie to the cops?" Tristan pressed.

"Because I'd hurt everyone enough at that point. I wasn't going to make your aunt suffer. She was just as much of a mother to us as Tori was." Damien groaned out.

"That's very true." Finn commented softly.

"Yeah. So, my darling uncle is keeping me from my brother, huh?" Tristan said, sounding much more like the Tristan that Finn and Rory knew. Damien nodded, wiping away his tears. "Then what the fuck are we still sitting here, for?" Tristan declared. He quickly stood up, offering his hand to Damien. "I may still hate you for killing my mother, but I have to admit, you've always cared about Ken. His decision on whether or not to hate you too will be his. I guess I can learn to tolerate you again." He smiled, although it was the tiniest smile known to man, it was still a smile. Damien returned the gesture, as he took his hand and shook it.

"Let's go get your shit together." Damien smirked.

Rory squealed and jumped up.

"I hate to break up the party, but you are aware that once you step off the base grounds you'll be in severe trouble." Dr. Ateyu supplied.

"Well, that's a chance I have to take." Tristan said soberly.

"Just be sure to keep your head down, kid." She smiled softly at him. It seemed as if everything would work out for him.

An hour later, Rory pulled up to the armed guards once more. She noticed that they were different. They must have changed shifts for the day.

"Drive through ma'am. Have a nice day." The guard said to her.

"You, too." Rory smiled.

As soon as she was on the main road, Tristan hopped over the backseat. "Could you drive any slower? Do you know how cramped that was?"

"Aw. Poor baby." Rory rolled her eyes playfully.

"Hey, Mary, pull over at the next restaurant." He asked suddenly.

"You hungry?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No, but these two are going to be, for a while, aren't you?" He looked back and forth between the two other boys. Each grumbled and nodded. Tristan just smiled as they parked and the boys climbed out. "Now, you, get your pretty little ass back here." Rory exited the car and climbed in the back.

As soon as the door closed, he was kissing her.

"I missed you." He mumbled between kisses.

"I missed you, too." She gasped out.

They fell asleep in the back seat kissing. They came to lay down, with Rory's body laying perfectly on his. At some point, Finn and Damien came back, and had started driving again.

Neither woke up again until they were driving on a skyway.

"Hey, look, Heaven's advertised!" Rory quipped waking up. The boys up front laughed loudly, while Tristan gave her a bemused look. She simply giggled at him.

"Should we pull over at some point, or just keep driving?" Finn asked as they passed another rest stop.

"Can we keep driving?" Tristan asked, pleadingly. "The sooner I see Ken the better..." He said quietly.

"Alright mate, but I can't drive anymore. Who wants to?" Finn begged.

"I will. I haven't driven in over a month!" Tristan complained.

"So, is that supposed to be a good reason to let you drive?" Damien asked.

"I can drive better than you." Tristan scoffed.

"Hence why I'm not allowed to drive." Damien said, sulkily.

"Tris can drive!" Rory giggled.

"Thank you!" Tristan said, as he placed a kiss on her nose.

Lorelai woke up the next morning to find an Aussi on her couch.

"Finn?" She asked groggily.

"Mmhh, go 'way." He mumbled.

'Okay, that _is_ Finn.' Lorelai sighed in relief. Heading towards her daughter's room, she poked her head in. The sight before her made her heart both melt, and cry. Her baby girl was sound asleep with her boyfriend's arms wrapped securely around her waist. She closed the door and went to make coffee.

As the scent wafted through the house, a disoriented Rory walked into the kitchen in what she assumed was Tristan's shirt.

"Mornin' babe." Lorelai offered her a cup. Rory downed before smiling tiredly.

"Morning mom." Rory yawned.

"So, I take it you found Tristan?" Rory nodded, suddenly deep in thought. "And the sleeping arrangements last night? Platonic, or?"

"No, we didn't have sex." She said, still absentmindedly.

"_Liar_." A sleepy voice said walking out of Rory's room. Lorelai raised an eyebrow. Rory woke up from her pondering.

"We didn't have sex in the _house_ last night." Rory clarified.

Eyebrow still raised, Lorelai asked, "Then where _did_ you have sex?"

Rory blushed, refusing to answer. Tristan smirked into his coffee cup. "Finn's back seat."

Finn's voice sounded from the living room. "Bloody Hell! You're paying to get that reupholstered, DuGrey!" Finn whined. As he entered the kitchen himself, he socked Tristan in the arm, only making him smirk harder.

"So, who wants to tell Mommy how you got him busted out and home so quick?" Lorelai questioned.

All three teens looked down at their coffee, in deep thought. Seeing that neither Rory or Tristan wanted to think about it, Finn beckoned Lorelai out of the room. Once they were alone, Tristan was the first to speak.

"As soon as we're showered and stuff, I wanna go see Ken. Like, ASAP." She nodded.

"You want me to drive you or go with you?" She asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Go…I, uh, was actually hoping you could go in first. Ya know, since you've already met him. I'll probably have to psyche my self up for it all." He said sheepishly.

"No problem." She kissed him softly after putting her mug in the sink.

"Thank you." He mumbled against her lips.

"I love you." She whispered back, his lips absorbing her words.

"I love you." He devoured his own words as he claimed her lips in a heated kiss.

While they were getting hot and heavy, Lorelai and Finn were talking in the living room.

"He almost had a mental break down?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.

"No. He _did_ have a mental break down. Just, Rory prevented it from getting too bad. He still slips into these quiet periods, and only speaks in this scared little boy voice. It's disturbing." Finn said sounding uncharacteristically sober.

"Is he going to see Ken today?" She asked.

"I'd imagine." He said, somewhat in a daze. Sensing his discomfort, she decided a change in subject was in order.

"What do you say you come to the Inn and you and I catch up today. I've missed my Exotic Boy!" She suggested.

"I've missed you, too, Coffee Goddess." Finn said, temporarily forgetting about the previous days drama.

"I'm sure if you go fast enough, you can sneak past them into the shower first." She staged whispered. Finn nodded in agreement.

"See you in a half hour or so?" He said, happily. Lorelai mock saluted. Half way up the stairs she turned around real quick.

"Oh, Finn! Were the Marines hot?" She asked leaning over the railings.

"I was too terrified of them to check them out for you, sorry. But they had nice muscles." Finn said as he gave her a lopsided smile and a shrug. Lorelai sighed.

"I guess its good enough!" She said as she waved him off.

As Finn slipped past the necking couple. He smiled softly at them before cringing and slipping into the bathroom.

The couple finally separated. "Hey, um…" Rory started, looking down. He lifted her chin, and smiled down at her. "I, uh, I was wondering if on our way to the hospital... we could stop at a store..." She asked shyly. He just nodded.

"Yeah. No problem, baby." He kissed the top of her head.

An hour later found Rory and Tristan in an aisle in the local Wal-mart.

"So, which one do we get?" Tristan asked looking at the pregnancy tests. They both were staring at them perplexed.

"How would I know?" Rory shrugged.

"Um-" He began, before being cut off.

"_Tristan_!" An overly preppy voice squealed behind them. The two turned, scared. "Oh my god! It _is_ you! Where have you been?" Summer asked.

"I, um, Military School." Tristan said clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh." Summer got sober, then making no attempt to mask the fact she was checking him out. Rory felt him grip her hip, pulling her closer to him.

"Summer, is there a reason you're checking out my boyfriend?" Rory was really not in the mood for this.

Summer scoffed. "You're with _her_?" She sneered.

"Yes. Still fucking Austin, or did he cheat on you?" He replied back, not missing a beat.

"Actually, neither of us has cheated." Summer said looking quite proud of herself.

"So, Summer, what are _you_ doing in a Wal-mart?" Rory asked smirking.

"I, uh, had to get something. What's it to you?" Summer replied, feigning nonchalance, but failing miserably.

"Oh, are you here for a pregnancy test... cause we have to get one for Rory's Mom's best friend. We have no idea what to get though. I know you have experience with buying them." Tristan smirked at her.

Rory gave him a petrified look.

"Oh really. Seems to me its more for like, Miss Mary." Summer sneered.

"That would be the Immaculate Conception." Rory scoffed back.

"_Actually_-" Tristan started.

"Shut it, Bible Boy." Rory glared.

"_What_? The Immaculate Conception was actually Mary's conception, not Jesus'." He grinned cheekily. Rory rolled her eyes in response.

"You _know_… It doesn't really matter. Once I tell everyone that you were buying a pregnancy test you're screwed." Summer said triumphantly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Really? And how do you explain being in Wal-mart, in this aisle?" Rory asked.

"I, uh." Summer let out a small frustrated shriek and stomped off.

"Great. Just great." Rory let out her own frustrated groan.

"Relax. Come on. I need you happy and together." Tristan said rubbing her shoulders. He grabbed 3 random tests and went to the self check out.

"That's so pointless." Rory said.

"Why?" He responded, caught off guard by her change in mood.

"Because they're all going to tell me the same thing." Rory whined.

"Yeah, but this way, we'll know for sure." Tristan insisted. She sighed in defeat.

After finally having gotten to the hospital, Tristan wouldn't budge. "_Tris_, come on. You can do it. You'll wait in the hall, I'll talk to Ken, then I'll be right there. I won't leave unless you tell me to. Okay?"

He nodded. They finally walked up to Ken's room. Tristan stayed in the hallway as Rory entered the room.

"Hey, Ken!" She smiled. Tristan could hear her, and smiled.

"Hey, Rory." He smiled lopsidedly. "No Tristan?"

"Actually he's out in the hall. He's...nervous I guess. He asked me to come in first. However, I have to tell you something first. Tristan was never told you woke up. He, I, remember how Damien told you that stuff is messed up here? Well, it got a lot more messed up in the last 24 hours. Tristan was on the edge of a mental break down when we got there. He might get really quiet or won't speak. He might not be able to look you in the face too much. He'll get better. I promise. Just, I'm not really sure what to tell you. I guess you'll both have to be patient." She smiled.

"Can I meet him now?" He asked, as he began to grow antsy. Rory laughed and walked back out into the hall. She walked back in with Tristan.

"Ken, this is your little brother, Tristan." Rory smiled, squeezing Tristan's had lightly before letting go. She stepped back and watched as the two brothers stared at each other.


	13. Ch12 What We've Waited For

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long. I was at a bit of a standstill, and my life's been a little chaotic, as well as my wonderful Beta, La/LoVe23. School has been a complete mess lately. That and now I work at one of the local Burger Kings on the weekends, when I used to write/sleep. I've no time for either! Lol. BUT, I think you'll all be very happy with me in this chapter. You finally get your answer. But there are still a lot of questions, in fact, there are more presented! Enjoy and tell me what ya'll think!

I love reviews. They make my day. And I could really use the smiles lately. -Bree

**Ch 12: What We've Waited For**

Rory stepped back, letting Tristan embrace Ken tightly. Tears were pouring down his checks. Ken too, had tears in his eyes. After a few minutes, they pulled away. Rory had brought over two chairs for Tristan and herself, but Tristan pulled her onto his lap.

"Wow! Neanderthal, much?" She joked.

Nuzzling her neck a bit, he replied, "Maybe. I've missed you."

"What about me?" Ken asked, hand over his heart. Rory's face took on a look of pure shock.

"That's freaky." She mumbled. Ken and Tristan both smirked, causing her to whine. She buried her face into Tristan shoulder. "Stop it!" She whined again.

"So, little brother, what have I missed?" Tristan smiled at Ken's choice of words.

"I think a better question is... what do you remember?" He said, narrowing his eyes. Ken gave him a lopsided look.

"I remember, laughing. Something was really funny. Then tires screeching, and shouting and screaming and a voice. That's all I can remember from what happened." Ken said, with a look of concentration as he tried to recall the day of the accident.

"After they told me you were my brother, I tried to think really hard. I remember when we were little. Mom and someone who looks just like her, took me, you…and Damien and Finn, I think, to this lake. You sat there just watching the water, and eventually, all of us sat with you. We just watched the ducks." Ken said looking Tristan in the eye.

"Is that...?" Rory questioned. Tristan nodded with a small smile.

"That woman is Terri, Mom's twin sister. She's married to Charles and she's pregnant. About 5 months now." Tristan explained to his brother.

"Wow." Ken paused. "So, what happened that day?"

"It goes back much, much further than that day." Rory supplied.

"We don't even know all of it anymore." Tristan sighed.

"Tell me what you do know." Ken demanded, his internal struggle to remember present in his features. Rory reached for his hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Well, it started when we were 14 and 15..." Tristan began.

The next two hours were filled with Tristan regaling Ken with what had happened. Rory's mind, however, was elsewhere. All she could concentrate on was whether or not she was pregnant. Her mind could focus on nothing else.

Ken noticed the look on her face. "You alright, Rory?" Concern lacing his voice.

"Hmm?" She sounded bored to them.

"Something wrong, Mare?" Tristan asked.

"Are we boring you?" Ken asked light heartedly. Rory wasn't really paying them much attention.

"Mmhmm." She was still staring at the small dot on the wall next to the door.

"Well, if we're boring you so much, why don't you leave?" Tristan snapped. The tone in his voice caught her attention.

"What?" She said, shocked out of her reverie.

"If you're so bored why don't you leave?" Tristan said through gritted teeth, trying to contain his hurt and anger.

"What?" Rory looked confused and even a bit angry. As his words registered, she gave him a look of disbelief. "I'm so sorry, Tristan. It's not like I have other things on my mind." She stood up and quickly walked out of the room.

Tristan looked at Ken. Ken just gave him a look of disbelief. "I'll, uh, be right..." Tristan trailed off as he ran after Rory.

"Rory! Rory...! _Mary_?" Only when she heard the slight desperation in his voice did she stop walking and waited for him. When she looked up at him, he saw the tears running down her face. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry." He quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, I just... I just want to know. I need to know. I've been wondering ever since I got home that night. I'm sorry I'm ruining your reunion with Ken. I'm such a bitch." She was sobbing into his chest.

"No, you're not. It's my fault. Ken was just messing around and I took it too seriously. I'm sorry. How about we go say bye to Ken, and go to your house?" He said soothingly. She simply nodded into his chest.

They walked back silently, Tristan keeping her as close as possible. Entering the room, they tried to look a little less terrified than they knew they really were.

"Sorry to cut it short, but we have something we should really be taking care of." Tristan said walking over to Ken.

"No problem. Everything okay?" Ken asked sincerely concerned.

"Hopefully." Rory said with a bitter smile.

"I'll fill you in tomorrow." Tristan promised.

"Alright. Then I guess this is goodnight." Ken said somberly. Rory leaned over and hugged him.

"I'll stop by with some real food after school tomorrow. You haven't truly lived until you've eaten Luke's. And I dare say you've already wasted enough time being in a coma and all..." She said light heartedly. Ken laughed a deep laugh at her joke.

"Alright! Later, big bro." Tristan hugged him as well. "I love you." He said softly into his ear, causing Rory to not hear him.

"Ditto, Bro." Tristan smiled. He was remembering. When they were younger, they'd fight a lot. Whoever apologized 2 minutes later often was forced to say I love you by Tori or Terri. The other would reply with 'Ditto, Bro.'. "Where the hell did that come from?" Ken asked.

"You're just remembering." Tristan smiled one last time before they left the room.

-

-

After what seemed like an eternity, the timer finally rang through the bathroom.

"You look. My stomach's been hurting me all day. My back, too. I don't wanna move." Rory was huddled on the floor with Tristan. Tristan gently eased himself away from her, and looked at the first test.

"Positive." Rory bit her lip as tears began to pool. "Positive." He read the next one. "And last but not least... negative?" Tristan look perplexed.

"What?" Rory jumped to her feet. "How the hell is that possible?"

"Well, you are/were on birth control. Some tests can't tell the difference even after you've stopped taking it." He reasoned.

"Which on is the negative one?" She asked suddenly.

"EPT. Why?" Tristan answered, looking at her curiously.

"Cause that's supposed to be 99.9 percent accurate." She supplied.

"Well, we have the 99.9, doctor recommended 'Negative' and then we have the 2/3 'Positive'." Tristan sighed. Rory let out a frustrated growl.

"God damn It!" She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I just want to _know_, Tris!" She shouted as she looked up at him with watery eyes.

Looking away, she continued, "I just want..." She started trailing off, "Chocolate. I want chocolate."

"Okay, we'll go get you some chocolate. Then we'll go see Lorelai and then we'll make an appointment with a doctor, okay?" He said, trying to calm her nerves. She nodded as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

After a moment, she pulled away. As she started walking out of the bathroom, something caught Tristan's attention.

"Uh, Mare?" He said, slightly in awe.

"What?" She turned back to look at him.

His face was breaking out into a smile. "I think we've got our answer."

"What?" Rory looked confused. She followed his eyes to her lower half. "What are you looking at?"

"Your _ass_." He said bluntly.

"Tristan!" She shrieked.

"No, seriously. Go in the bathroom and look at your ass." Rory gave him a skeptical look, but did anyway.

"Oh my god! Oh. My god!" She started jumping up and down. "Oh my god, Tristan." She collapsed into his waiting arms. "I'm not. I've never been so happy to get my period in my life." She cried into his shoulder.

"I love you, Rory." Tristan whispered into her hair.

"I love you, too, Tristan." They stayed wrapped up in one another for what felt like an eternity. An eternity of peace. An eternity of soul searing joy and most of all, an eternity of undying love.

But it was only a moment of calm. The storm was still building all around them.

-

-

Tristan decided it was finally time to face his uncle. Rory had tried to dissuade him, telling him to stay and celebrate with her, but his mind was set.

"Charles has almost jeopardized everything I care about. I need to know what he's doing and why. I need to protect Terri. She's all I've got left of my mother." Rory nodded somberly at his words, kissed him, and sent him on his way with a faint 'I love you' echoing behind him.

She visibly winced when she heard the tires screech. She wasn't sure what was going to happen now. Part of her wished she was pregnant. Then Tristan would have someone else to think about and wouldn't act so rashly.

Then again, his mind was clearer, now that one problem was off their plates. She couldn't help but remember that there were still so many other things. Tristan was on his way to Janlen's, trying to piece together the puzzle. Rory hoped Tristan wouldn't see a side of his grandfather that could shatter his perception and undying love for the man. Tristan often revered his grandfather as someone so much better than the rest. True, he was kind, generous, and well liked and respected by all.

But he was also human. A fact Tristan was about to find out the hard way.

As he entered his Grandfather's front door, he noted the quiet. Scared to disturb it, as most people are, he walked quickly and silently to the study. The door creeked as he pushed it open slowly, revealing his grandfather sitting at his desk, doing work as normal.

"Grandfather?" He asked softly.

Startled, Janlen's head rose quickly. "Tristan? I didn't know you were coming home!"

"Surprise." He smiled. Janlen stood to envelope his grandson in a hug.

"I've missed you, boy." He said, tightening his hold on Tristan.

"_Really_?" Tristan asked, false sweetness coating his voice. "Is that why you never told my girlfriend where I was? Why you never answered her phone calls? Why you didn't tell me Ken's awake?" Tristan wasn't thinking clearly. He was just attacking his grandfather, letting out all of his frustration that couldn't be taken out on Rory.

"I wasn't aware Ken was awake." He replied, clearly stunned by the news. However, he did not deny the things about Rory.

"_Why didn't you tell her?_" Tristan screamed. "You and Charles and who ever else almost made me lose the girl I love, and maybe something more! Tell me why!" His face was red with barely controlled rage.

"Charles...has things that he holds over my head. Things he knows would destroy me. Things that would destroy you and Ken and your father. Your Grandmother's memory. Things I will take to my grave." Janlen said in a defeated voice.

"You... of all people, let Charles blackmail you? He's not even related to you! He's your daughter-in-law's brother-in-law. You chose _him_ over _me_?" Tristan started backing up.

"Tristan..." Janlen called out.

"No...No! Don't! Don't even..." Tristan choked out as he held his hands out in front of him to stop Janlen's excuses. Tristan was beyond upset when he ran out of his grandfather's home.

As the engine roared, he raced down the street. Everything was a blur. Only one clear thought ran through his mind. His rage was coming back tenfold. He wanted to hit something. Hit someone. It was like a song playing over and over.

Find Charles. Question Charles. Hit Charles….and maybe….even _kill_ Charles.


	14. Ch13 They Crash Around Me

So, it's really short, but its something to satisfy you. I had to jump start the plot a little, so that's all this is, theres actually a lot in the little amount there is. Sorry its short, but i'll try to update asap. The title comes from a Bullet For My Valentine song. While that part of the song quoted, I think it capture the whole chapter more than the lines I did include. I couldn't help it! It fit so nicely...

As usual thank you to all my wonderful reviewers and monreviewing readers alike.

And a huge thank you to my beta LoVe23. (_shameless plug)Go check out her story, id #3328527 or find her under my fav authors!(/shameless plug)_

Enjoy! xxBree

_Recap: _

_"You... of all people, let Charles blackmail you? He's not even related to you! He's your daughter-in-law's brother-in-law. You chose _him_ over _me_?" Tristan started backing up._

_"Tristan..." Janlen called out._

_"No...No! Don't! Don't even..." Tristan choked out as he held his hands out in front of him to stop Janlen's excuses. Tristan was beyond upset when he ran out of his grandfather's home._

_As the engine roared, he raced down the street. Everything was a blur. Only one clear thought ran through his mind. His rage was coming back tenfold. He wanted to hit something. Hit someone. It was like a song playing over and over._

_Find Charles. Question Charles. Hit Charles….and maybe….even _kill_ Charles._

**Ch 13: "Your Tears Don't Falls... They Crash Around Me" **

**- **_Tears Don't Fall by_ Bullet For My Valentine

As Tristan raced through the streets of Hartford, Rory sat in her living room with an uneasy feeling.

Seeing the pensive look on her face, Lorelai sat down touching her knee gently. "What's wrong, babe?"

"I'm... I'm worried about him." Rory said in a soft voice, full of concern.

"So call him." Lorelai suggested.

"I don't want to interrupt if he's with his grandfather." Rory replied simply.

"Then text him. He has your phone, right? So, use mine." Lorelai handed over her phone.

"Okay." Rory relented.

The continuous loop was still racing through Tristan's mind as he drove. He flew up the drive of his aunt's home, parking quickly and getting out. As he approached the door, Rory's cell phone went off, causing _Walk Like An Egyptian_ to ring quietly. Pulling it out, he saw a message from Lorelai's phone.

_I love you Tris 3-Mary. _

Tristan smiled down at the phone, a sudden calm overcoming his features. When he realized where he was, he looked up into the window. There he saw his aunt sitting down with a hopeful look on her face. Charles was just entering the room. He saw Terri's face drop, and Charles become comforting. Charles whispered something and kissed her. He clearly read her lips as she replied. "I love you, too." Amazingly he could swear he saw remorse in his uncle's eyes.

Realizing he was in no state of mind to face Charles, he went back to his car and called Rory.

"_Hello?" Rory's soft voice sounded over the receiver. She was clearly hesitant, as she was unsure of his current state of mind._

"I love you, too, Mary." He said softly, to ease her nerves. She let out an audible sigh of relief.

_"Everything alright?" She asked, a little more confidently._

"I'll be home soon." He assured.

_"Oh, okay." She sighed, happy to know he was ok._

"Love you." He whispered.

_"Love you, too." She whispered back._

Rory was sitting on the porch in one of his sweat shirts, looking a bit cold when Tristan pulled up. He parked and exited the car slowly, taking small deliberate steps toward Rory. Her face softened as he reached her.

"What's wrong, baby?" She asked, seeing his face. He sat next to her on the swing, placing his head in her lap. Before Rory really processed what was happening, Tristan was crying in her lap. "Oh, oh Tris." She ran her fingers through his hair as he turned so his face was buried against her stomach.

She had no real sense of how long they sat there. Tristan finally drifted off by the time Lorelai came out.

"Rory…" She called out, not noticing that Tristan lay in her lap asleep.

"Shh.." Rory reprimanded, quickly cutting her off, and gestured to the young boy sleeping in her lap. Lorelai's eye's widened in surprise.

"Oh, sorry." She whispered. "Let's get him inside, okay?"

Rory nodded and the two of them managed to lift him up into a standing position. Each of them took an arm and put it around their shoulders and they proceeded to drag him to Rory's bed.

"What's wrong with him, babe?" She asked as they quietly walked out of the room. When they were struggling with getting him upright, Lorelai couldn't help but notice the dried tears and troubled look on his face.

"I don't know. What I managed to understand was Gramps, Charles, kill, love and couldn't." Rory explained before letting out a shaky sigh. "I'm scared, Mom. I don't know what happened. What if he did something stupid?" She sobbed, throwing herself into her mother's arms, unable to stay strong.

"You have to just be there for him, hun. That's all I can tell you." Lorelai told her, holding Rory close and stroking her hair, waiting for her tears to subside.

-

-

When Tristan woke up the next morning, he found himself in Rory's bed. She was asleep next to him, concern etched into her features. He didn't remember how he ended up in her bed, but he wasn't going to complain. As long as he was home with her. Having felt his eyes on her, Rory's opened sleepily.

"Hey." She mumbled. Her voice was thick with sleep.

"Hey." He said, his voice low and husky, sending chills through her. "Since we both know how _I_ am, I'm not even gonna skirt around it. How did I end up in your bed?" After a moment he added, "Not that I mind in the _least_."

"You fell asleep after you...cried...so Mom and I carried you in here." She shrugged.

"_Ah_. I remember now." He winced at the memory of how vulnerable he'd been.

"Hey. _Real_ men cry." Rory said trying to lighten the mood. "Besides," she practically purred. "I found it down right sexy." She said, giving him a seductive smile.

"Is that right?" He smirked, rolling on top of her.

"Yeah.." She sighed, enjoying the feel of his weight on top of her. She'd missed him so much.

As they leaned in to kiss, Rory's door opened. "Oh, god! _Sorry_." The intruder cried out. Tristan dropped his head onto Rory's shoulder as Rory giggled.

"Morning, Finn!" She said happily.

"Morning, Love. Now, sorry to interrupt, but Lorelai says we _must_ get to Luke's ASAP, or she will deprive Rory of coffee for the next 6 weeks." A gasp resounded after his statement, followed also by a groan as Tristan was pushed to the floor.

"So glad to see you love me, Mare." He muttered.

Ignoring him, she quickly pulled clothes out of her closet to wear.

"Okay, shoo, Aussi." Tristan commanded, pointing to the door.

"You never were one to share." Finn pouted.

"Definitely not her." Tristan replied as Finn laughed and closed the door. He looked up at her from his position on the floor. She was looking at him with so much emotion running through her eyes. Her arms had stilled in their motions, holding a shirt and a skirt together.

"Tristan…" She trailed off.

"I'll tell you later. Let's just go before your Mom deprives you of the Nectar of the Gods." He suggested. Cutting her off, and changing the subject for now. She half smiled at him before resuming her task of getting dressed.

It had been a long couple of days for them, and she knew it wasn't going to get any easier. But for right now, they were together, and that was all that mattered. Looking around her, she saw that she was surrounded by her family: Lorelai and Luke, Tristan & Finn. However, thinking of that made her realize, Tristan didn't have his. Slowly but surely he'd been losing his.

"Can we go see Ken today…again?" Tristan asked looking like a hopeful child.

"Sure, babe, why not?" She smiled.

-

-

When they'd arrived at the hospital, Janlen was exiting his grandson's room. Tristan visibly stiffened.

"What are you doing here?" He snarled. Rory grew confused. She'd never expected Tristan to act like this toward his grandfather.

"I came to see that my grandson was doing better." Janlen replied in a clipped tone.

"Why? So you can lie to him, too?" Tristan accused.

"Tristan..." Rory said softly, but was ignored as the intense stare between the men worsened.

"Despite what you believe, Tristan, I have helped you more than you think. I'm sorry there wasn't more that I could do." Janlen replied.

"Yeah, right." Having had enough of the confrontation, Tristan stalked past him into the room.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. DuGrey.. I don't know what's wrong with him." Rory quickly apologized.

"It's alright, Ms. Gilmore. I just... since my wife died, it seems like everything has gone down hill. First Tori and Ken... then Tristan was sent to Terri because my son couldn't handle it." He sighed before continuing. "Lately, I don't even have Terri anymore. Those girls were inseparable, and they were both like my daughters. I loved them both very much. Did you know I walked Terri down the aisle at her wedding? Her father had been dead for years, so she asked me to do it. I just... I feel like I'm losing every…" He trailed off, for a second, then realizing that he wasn't alone, he shook himself of his reverie and cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He said suddenly, then quickly walked down the hall, leaving Rory standing in the hall, confused.

A moment later, she walked into Ken's room. Tristan seemed to be happier and so was Ken.

"RORY!" Ken yelled, opening his arms for her to come give him a hug. When she did he pulled her onto the bed with him. "Ya know, Tris, I like her. She'll make a damn good sister." Rory squealed as she was pulled, but smiled softly at Ken and then Tristan.

"Good, I plan on keeping her for a while." Tristan said softly, giving her a small smile.

-

-

Deciding it best to wait until they were in the privacy of Rory's home, she kept all of her nagging thoughts at bay. The ride home had been relatively quiet, the two basking in the comfortable silence. Not usually one for heavier music, Rory oddly enjoyed Tristan's selection. Something about the particular song he'd chosen struck her oddly…or maybe it was that he was singing softly along with it.

_Would she hear me, if I called her name?_

_Would she hold me, if she knew my shame?_

Just what did that mean? What had he done?

When they finally entered her bedroom, the damn broke as the questions flooded out.

"What happened last night?" She asked, before he'd even shut the door.

"My grandfather proved to me where my dad really came from." Tristan said, sardonically.

"What?" Rory was utterly confused. Tristan always spoke so highly of Janlen and lowly of his father.

"He let that bastard blackmail him! I got sent to Military School because Charles blackmailed him!" Tristan said, his voice rising as he remembered the anger he felt the other day.

"Tristan... do you even know what it was?" She asked calmly, as she moved closer to her raging boyfriend.

"No. But he...he didn't even tell you that I was in Military School like I asked...and you could have been...ya know...and...he lied to me!" He sputtered, trying to reign in his temper.

"He was being blackmailed, he probably couldn't have told me. But did you even hear him out last night? Or did you flip out like normal?" The words tripped out before she had a chance to stop herself. She cringed as the words left her mouth.

"_'Like Normal'_? What the fuck does that mean?" He yelled.

"Sometimes you react before you think…you don't hear people out…" She tried explaining before Tristan cut her off.

"So I'm _wrong_? My grandfather chooses his pride and dignity over his own family, but _I'm wrong_?" He asked incredulously.

"Tristan, you don't know what he's done…" She said, again trying to placate him.

"Just.. stay out of it, Rory! It's none of your god damn business. If I want your fucking opinion, I'll ask for it!" He roared at her.

"Fine. You're making a big mistake. You just don't see it." She yelled back, finally unable to contain her anger.

With that said, she left the room. Her face was set in a stony expression as Tristan's seething form watched her leave. His anger was now beyond boiling point, and once he realized what he'd done, he slammed a fist into the wooden doorframe of her room.

What mistake she'd been referring to he wasn't sure. The way he was acting towards his grandfather or what he'd just let happen between him and the girl he loved... the almost mother of his almost child.

That scare was something he'd never forget. It proved to him just how much he truly loved Rory. He'd give up everything and anything for her, even his life.

Only, he felt like he'd just given _her_ up…and maybe giving up his life would have hurt a whole lot less.


	15. Ch14 Mirror Mirror

-1Sorry it took so long… my life is just… it sucks. No worse than anyone else's, but it still sucks. That and my wonderful beta's been busy too… like working on her own story… you should really check it out! Anyway, special thankses to LoVe23 for betaing, as always. Enjoy! XBree

PS, this has been planned from the beginning… im not desperate for a plot…

**Chapter 14: Mirror Mirror on the Wall, How Did We Come to Fall?**

Entering her home, Lorelai had expected to hear the delighted giggle and boisterous laughs of her daughter and adoptive sons. While she'd been angry with the two, mostly Tristan, the month or so they'd been away, she'd understood where the situation and had no reason for animosity anymore.

Sadly, the house was void of any sound, until Lorelai strained her hearing for any even insignificant sound. When she heard the sound, she thought she was wrong, but growing closer, she was sure it was someone sobbing, almost. As she neared Rory's room, she felt her heart break as she watched Tristan sitting on the floor, his knees in his chest, crying uncontrollably. She inched towards him carefully.

"Tristan?" She asked softly, receiving nothing in reply. She sank to her knees next to him, still trying to catch his attention. Finally, Tristan threw himself into Lorelai's arms as he continued to cry.

Although she comforted him, Lorelai couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. She had a feeling it was something from the night before.

"Tristan, what's wrong?" She whispered once he'd calmed down a little.

"I screwed up. I...He blackmailed him. And yelled at him…and then I yelled at her...She was only trying to help… but I pushed her away too… and I need her…Lorelai…I can't live without…it hurts too much with out her. She's the only thing not connected to it all…and I need that. I need someone who loves me for me, not because of what happened… I don't need her to get involved… I need her to distract me… I need her. I love her." He sobbed.

"Who Tristan?" Although she was fairly certain, she needed a confirmation.

His voice cracked, and with it, her own heart, as he spoke. "…Mary, my Mary…Rory."

And he began crying all over again.

-

-

Lorelai had managed to move Tristan to Rory's bed before he passed out from exhaustion. She sat at the kitchen table, coffee in hands, waiting. Waiting for what she wasn't sure.

Waiting for her daughter to come home? Waiting or an argument? Waiting for Janlan or Terri or…Charles to show up demanding to know where Tristan was? Waiting for the police to arrest her for harboring a runaway?

Yes, that's what Tristan was. A runaway…and she was harboring him.

Perhaps she was waiting to wake up from the nightmare their lives turned into. Just yesterday it had seemed as if life was perfect. Rory was attending Chilton. Her relationship with her parents was getting better. Life was pretty damn good, and then Rory went to that damned party.

Why hadn't she forbid her from going? Convince her she was just going to end up bored reading in a corner? She could have suggested a movie night instead. But no, in true Lorelai fashion, she _supported_ it. Supported! Supported her daughter in going to a snobby, rich kid, prep school party. Just like the ones she'd _sneak out_ to go to, and end up in a bedroom making out and doing rather inappropriate things with Christopher in.

Ever since that party, where had their life gone? Down the drain. First, Rory skipped half a day of school. She was providing a form of community service for two delinquent teens, who were trying to corrupt her daughter, one of them trying to seduce her. Oh, but wait, he succeeded. Yes, he succeeded, and forgot to use a damned condom. She finally understood a bit of how her parents felt when they found out that she was pregnant. That realization that everything you've worked your child's entire life towards, going right down the drain.

That complete and utter disappointment, not only in them, but yourself.

It proved to Lorelai that no matter how perfect Rory seemed, she was just a kid. A kid in love.

A girl in love with a boy, who is too screwed up to know which way is up without said girl. A girl who is too dependant on his need to function properly without.

A sudden thought came to her. Was Rory feeling guilty? Did she feel like she was with him only because he needed her? Or did she feel like she had been keeping Tristan from all these problems while he was here and then brought him back to them? Had Terri and Charles been right to send him away from his problems? What if Rory was one of his problems? Was Rory to him what Christopher had been to her? The axis that your world rotates on, only to keep changing direction every 30 seconds?

When did Rory become the bad guy to her? Wasn't that supposed to be Tristan? Wasn't he the one that brought all of these heavy thoughts onto her shoulders?

-

-

"Mom?"

Rory had entered the house a bit apprehensively, which only increased once she saw her mother sitting at the table, deep in thought. She'd tried to get her attention a few times before she finally broke through to her.

"Wh-what? Oh, hi." Lorelai breathed, broken from her daze.

"Everything alright? You seemed like you were deep in thought?" Rory said, giving her a look of concern.

"Oh, you know, just trying to decide who Mel Brookes was better as in Space Balls. Yogurt or President Screwed?" She said nonchalantly.

Sitting down, Rory agreed, "That _is_ a toughie." She paused before continuing. "So what were you really thinking about?"

'What happened today, hun?" Lorelai sighed.

"Meaning what?" Rory said cautiously. Although she knew precisely what her mother was referring to, she was hoping she'd let her pass. Based on the look Lorelai was giving her, that wasn't going to happen. "I guess I pushed too hard when I shouldn't have pushed at all." She sighed. "I just don't know what to do, Mom. He's blaming Janlan, and he doesn't even know the half of it. He knows only what he knows and won't hear anything else. He's wrong." Rory explained adamantly. Lorelai was about to say something but was cut off when Rory continued.

"Yes, he does have some right to be angry with Janlan. He was hurt by him and disappointed that the man he thought was perfect had fallen from grace in his eyes. But he doesn't know that Janlan helped even when he shouldn't have. If Charles is blackmailing him, he wouldn't have been able to tell Grandpa, Tristan's address for me. If Charles ever found out about that, Janlan would be screwed, whatever Charles is blackmailing him with would be out in the open." Rory paused for a moment before continuing again.

"If he had seen his grandfather's face when he acted so coldly toward him…Janlan is so…torn. He wants to be there for his grandsons, but there are skeleton's in Janlan's closet that aren't ready to be seen by the light of day. Honestly, if we told Janlan that it's all Charles fault, he probably would be able to reverse the blackmailing. But Tristan would have to pull his head out of his ass and talk to his grandfather first!"

Lorelai tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. Rory had stood up and began pacing through out her monolog, but it was what was standing behind Rory in her doorway with his arms crossed, and an unreadable expression on his face that had her silenced.

"I can't do that." He said in a low voice. It was quiet, but Rory heard him loud and clear. She whirled around to face him. Honestly, he looked like shit. But she wouldn't tell him that right now. She was still mad at him anyway, and not speaking to him exactly.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"I'd be as bad as him." He continued to stare at the ground. "I'd be blackmailing someone to get my way." He took a deep breath. "And I can't risk Terri ever finding out."

"What? Why not? He practically killed her sister!" She yelled.

His eyes snapped to her. "Why not? Because it would practically _kill_ her, Rory! _She_ loves him…and he loves her too. I've seen it in his eyes, he does love her. I can see the guilt in his eyes when he looks at her." His rant ended in a whisper.

"When did you…?"

"That's where I was…when I called you…I was ready to go…" Tristan explained.

"…_Gramps, Charles, kill, love, couldn't…"_ It all suddenly made sense. She tensed considerably.

"You were…oh my god…" Her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped.

"Rory…" He felt a lump in his throat. He knew she had figured out where his mind had been, what he had intended to do. And she was acting the way he feared she would. She was backing away from him, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"I never thought it was…that bad…I didn't think you thought like that…I…oh my god…" She fled the kitchen.

"Rory!" He tried to run after her, but Lorelai's voice stopped him.

"Don't Tristan. Let her calm down before you scare her more." Her words hit him like a ton of bricks.

He looked at her, eyes wide with realization…then he ran. He ran like he'd never run before in his life. Away from it. Away from everything. He hijacked her jeep, and sped off.

To where? Lorelai could only guess.

-

-

Crying. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. And once again he found himself alone. He always seemed to be alone lately. The anxiety was coming back. He could feel himself losing it. His breathing was becoming ragged, his heart pounded in his head. His vision blurred as he began to sway on his bent knees.

He fell forward, clutching the stone before him. As his eyes began rolling into the back of his head, a faint scream emanated from somewhere close by. He didn't know if it was him or someone else. The last thing he saw was his mother's face, and everything went black.

-

-

Rory stood in the emergency room, waiting for any word on Tristan. Ken stood next to her, clutching onto her for dear life. Rory clung right back, their silent tears mixing together and the occasional sob.

Finn entered with Luke, bringing lots of coffee. Behind them, Lorelai came in slowly. She did not want to be there. The guilt was written all over her face. She never should have said those words to him. She should have stopped him.

Rory wasn't making it any easier. She could barely look at her mother. Instead she stayed glued to either Ken or Finn, refusing anyone else, even Luke. She would occasionally send a cold glare at Charles, or send Janlan a helpless look.

Terri sat in a severely uncomfortable chair, continuously rubbing her stomach. All had to admit, she looked good pregnant. She had this glow to her, even when deeply worried. She was thankful she'd arrived when she had. Any later, and she might definitely have been burying another family member.

-

_Terri waddled through the cemetery to her sister's grave. She was worried about Tristan. She didn't know where he was, but refused to go to Stars Hollow to see if he was there. If he wanted to come home to her and Charles, he would. Sending him to military school had been the worst idea they'd ever had. But she couldn't keep fighting with Charles. Tristan had messed up again, and she had to stay true to her word._

_As she neared the grave she saw blonde hair. Trying to not get her hopes up, she slowly made her way over. Until she saw him fall forward. She screamed and ran to him as fast as she could._

_She reached him just in time for him to fall into her, whispering "Mommy. I need you." And then he was gone. Out cold._

-

And here they were. Waiting to find out what the hell happened. Terri asked what had happened before and Rory explained, giving only minor details. They fought, she ran, Lorelai said something to him, he ran, Terri called.

After an eternity, a doctor finally entered.

"Tristan DuGrey?" Everyone jumped to their feet. Rory, Ken, and Terri were the closest to the doctor with Finn, Janlan, and Kenneth behind them. Lorelai, Luke, Charles stayed to the back.

"Mr. DuGrey is stable now." The doctor explained.

"What happened?" Ken's voice quivered.

"His nervous system broke down. Apparently, Tristan has a slight mental disorder, due to what we assume is post-traumatic stress. Has he been through any stress lately?" The doctor inquired.

"His mother died, killed by his brother's best friend's irate driving. His brother was in a coma from it as well. He's felt like it was his fault the whole time, only to come to find out that-" Finn's hand clamped down on Rory's mouth.

"Excuse me, sir?" The doctor asked, giving Finn a strange look.

"She's rambling. Yes, he has been through a lot of stress. Because of his behavioral problems he was sent to Military School where he was very close to a mental break down."

"That would explain a lot. How long ago?"

"A few days."

"Hmm… well, then, if my hypothesis is correct, what ever stopped the break down only prolonged it. His body began shutting down from all the stress. Had he not gotten here when he did, I'm afraid there might have been serious repercussions." The doctor said gravely.

"So, now what?" Ken asked.

"We wait."

"For?" It was Finn this time who asked.

"Tristan to wake up. His vitals have been stabilized, but the human mind, it's a tricky thing. If he doesn't wake up within 48-72 hours, he may go into a coma." A subdued hush fell throughout them. Not a heartbeat or even a small breath could be heard.

"Can we see him?" Rory practically pleaded.

"Only one or two in the room at a time." The doctor said sympathetically.

"Thank you, doctor." Janlan spoke as they made their way to the room.

-

-

Rory refused to go into the room. She couldn't do it. She couldn't see him like that. Everyone had offered to go with her, but she refused them all.

"Come on, Rory. He needed your strength to come see me. Use my strength to go see him. Please. He needs to hear your voice. I know he can hear you, please." Ken begged. "C'mon, Mary. He needs you."

"_I'll always need you, Mary. And you'll always be my Mary. No matter what. Even Superman needed Lois, whether he was Superman or Clark. Spidey needed MaryJane. Bible boy needs Mary. Get use to it. You're stuck with me._"

"Okay." She finally whispered. Where that memory came from, she hadn't a clue. But it was what she needed. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, and took a deep breath.

Ken smiled and took her hand. Rory steeled herself for seeing him like that. But when she entered the room, she lost it. She flung herself onto his body, crying hysterically.

"Tristan… I love you. I'm so sorry. I…I shouldn't have reacted like that. I was scared. I…I'm sorry. Please wake up soon. I need you, Superman. Please." She sobbed.

Rory kept her head on his chest, listening to his shallow breathing and slow, steady heartbeat. Eventually, that's where she fell asleep.

-

-

Ken sat next to Rory, just observing. He wondered if this is what it felt like for Tristan. To have to watch your brother sitting in a bed…to possibly never wake again…with the unintentional cause sitting right beside him. He knew it wasn't Rory's fault. The doctor said so himself. Tristan's mind is a little screwed up. Rory didn't do anything a normal person wouldn't have done.

He had already forgiven Damien, so he forgave Rory the instant she blamed herself. But, maybe now, Tristan could completely forgive Damien. Having been on the other end and all. Because he was going to pull through this.

Right?

-

-

The waiting room was filled with various people waiting to be called, or given any news on their loved ones. In a large group sat Tristan's family. Janlan sat with his son and grandson, occasionally glaring at someone. Usually Charles or Kenneth.

Terri sat with Charles arms around her, occasionally shooting Lorelai a disappointed look, before her face would be taken over by guilt again. Charles sat stiffly next to wife, feeling the hateful looks of many in his company.

Lorelai sat in Luke's arms, her own guilt written out on her face, while Luke sat uncomfortably comforting Lorelai. Finn was in denial at the moment. He would sit there and stare at nothing, and nothing could get through to him.

Ken and Rory were still in the room with Tristan, as only two were allowed still. Everyone allowed them to stay without argument. Ken came out for a brief moment to let Janlan go in, but one look at Rory crying over Tristan's body, and he almost lost it. Remembering the pain of his wife's death, he excused himself for sometime before returning to the waiting room once more.

Tensions were high in the room. The atmosphere clogged with accusations, guilt, and worry. The breaking point came when Kenneth finally could bare it no longer.

"I trusted you!" He yelled at Terri and Charles. "I trusted you to do what was best for my son! I may not have been there for him like I should have, but I gave him to you because you assured me it was for the best! And I trusted you when you sent him to military school. How could this happen? How did my son end up in a hospital bed? This is all your fault, Charles!"

He screamed. The security guard quickly made his way over.

"Kenny, it's not…" Terri tried to calm him down.

"No, Terri. It wasn't your idea! He didn't want him around! God _forbid_ his nephew not like him!" Kenneth seethed.

Finn started laughing like a mad man. Ken came out of the room having heard his father's raised voice, followed by a half sleeping Rory.

"What are you laughing, Finn?" Janlan asked, confused as were the rest.

"You think he got rid of him because he knew Tristan didn't like him? Tristan doesn't like his own father all the much. He doesn't like anyone all that much! He couldn't stand the guilt. Every time he looked at Tristan, he saw Ken!" Finn continued to laugh. Realization grew on Rory's face. Everyone else was in the dark.

"What does that have to do with anything? Why would he feel guilty?" Kenneth asked, desperately seeking answers. But Finn wouldn't answer. "Someone answer me!"

"Sir, please. Keep your voice down, or we'll have to ask the whole group to leave." The security guard spoke politely enough. Kenneth nodded, but was still searching for answers.

"He can't say." Rory's voice broke through everything as she made her way out of the room.

"Why? Because he's laughing too much?" Charles quipped.

"No. Tristan won't let him. Any of us." Rory explained, glaring at Charles.

"Why not?" Janlan gruffed.

"Because he won't hurt someone else just to get his revenge. He refuses to hurt innocent people. Charles knows what we're talking about." She replied, still looking at Charles.

"Are you trying to get at something, young lady?" Charles barked.

"He refuses to be you. He won't blackmail someone to get what he wants. He could hold it over your head for the rest of your life, and he won't. He's let it go." She calmly.

"I've never blackmailed anyone." Charles huffed.

"I beg to differ. But that's not the point. Tristan won't allow anyone to know why you are guilty. And I won't go against his wishes. So, either drop it, or come clean." With her parting words, she turned and reentered Tristan's room as if nothing happened.

"Charles, what is she talking about?" Kenneth asked as soon as Tristan's door shut.

"N-nothing." Charles stammered.

"_Charles_." Janlan warned.

"_You_, have nothing to say to me, Janlan. About keeping secrets to protect your family." Charles bit out.

"That is completely different, and you know it."

"Dad?" Kenneth question, but was ignored by both men.

"Oh really? Well, if we're sharing, why don't you start, Janlan." Charles sneered.

"Gramps, what's he talking about?" Ken asked suddenly getting tired of being out of the loop.

"Nothing! Drop it. Both of you." He spoke to both his son and grandson.

"Charles, stop this and tell me what is going on. I swear to god if you don't tell me right now, you'll find yourself divorced faster than you can blink." Terri broke in suddenly. Unable to deny his wife, Charles sighed, before answering.

"Tristan seems to think I had something to do with Tori and Ken's accident. He won't admit that it was his brother's poor judgment in friends." Ken's eyes narrowed.

"Tell her the truth." He growled. "Tell her why Tristan thinks you had something to do with it, _Uncle Charles_."

"I haven't the faintest." Janlan and Kenneth restrained Finn and Ken before they pounced.

"When Tristan wakes up, you better pray he doesn't change his mind. If for even a second I have the go ahead, they'll know the truth." Ken threatened.

Charles eyes flickered to Janlan's. "So be it. But know that _my_ whole truth includes your whole truth as well."

The stand off ended for the moment, as Finn and Ken tried to keep their mouths shut. Terri moved away from Charles and tried talking to the boys. Kenneth excused himself to Tristan's room to talk to Rory.

Little did he know she wouldn't talk…not for anything. She'd keep her mouth shut on it. As would Finn and Ken. But what was Charles talking about? Why was his father so defensive? Nothing made sense anymore. He'd lost his wife and his eldest son was in a coma, and now that he is awake and better, his youngest was lying in a bed, and he didn't know why.

No one knew why. Not even Rory.


	16. Ch15 Feigning Ignorance

-1Hey Ya'll. So, life is life, males suck ass, females are b's, and love is pointless. However, I do believe I'm giving you a quicker update than normal. I figure I should warn you that I don't know when this is going to end, but it will prolly be in the next few chapters. Hopefully, I'll get it done before I leave for Governor's School in July. I'll be gone for a month straight then. Howevers, I'm really hoping to have both Nm and AS done before that. Well, review and I hope you like! Enjoy! xBree

**Chapter 15: Feigning Ignorance**

There was a weight on his chest. His eyes were heavy, he could barely breathe. This was most likely due to the weight…and his head was pounding. His throat was dry and he was dying for some water, and an aspirin. Finally, he forced his eyes open. He discovered the weight was a mop of brunette hair.

Attached to that hair was a body. A female body more precisely. And attached to that body was a face, one he loved very much. And on that face the eye lids fluttered open, awakened by his movement.

"Oh my god!" She breathed, quickly moving to envelope him in a hug. "Oh my god, you 're okay. You're okay. Oh, Tristan." She held on for dear life, startling the poor boy.

He tried to respond to her, but his throat was too dry. Fortunately one of the other occupants of the room had quietly beckoned her off of him and handed a glass of water to him. He thankfully gulped it in two sips.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Uh… my head hurts." He frowned. Why did his head hurt?

"Well, that's to be expected. Anything else hurt?" The other person, a male, asked.

"Uh…not really. My eyes are a little sore… but otherwise no. Why should my head hurt, Ken?"

"That's good…he remembers you." She whispered.

"Mary…Tell me what's going on?" He said bewildered as he looked between the two.

"I, um, uh, Ken?" She said, looking to Ken.

"I think we should let the doctor explain, Tris." He said soothingly.

"Doctor?" Tristan said wide-eyed, finally taking in his surroundings.

"You're in the hospital."

"Oh, that explains a lot. _WHY_?" He said a bit sarcastically, wincing at the pain in his head.

"I'm gonna go get the doctor." Ken volunteered and quickly left.

"Mary, come 'ere. Splain." She sat on the bed facing him.

"Tristan… you, do you remember anything?" He shook his head, then winced again in pain.

"You know I don't remember shit, Ror." He gritted out.

"Sometimes you do…" She trailed off.

"Yeah, but I don't. The last thing I remember is… wait Ken's awake?" Shock over took Tristan's body. "Am I in some alternative universe or something?"

Rory bit back the tears. The doctor said this was a major probability. When this sort of thing happened, the mind locks away the memories most recent to the breakdown. It was quite possible that Tristan didn't even remember going to military school, or the party.

"What's the last thing…you remember?"

"I, uh…" He scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know if it was a dream or not…"

"Bible boy…" She said a bit impatiently.

"Uh…question first…are you still a virgin?" He asked, unable to meet her eyes.

"So the last thing you remember is the party and you and I sleeping together?"

"How did you…? You know what never mind. Yes. I remember us sleeping together. When was that?"

"6 weeks ago."

"You mean I've been out for 6 weeks and my brother has been awake?" He yelled.

"Not quite… Let the doctor explain, please…" She begged him.

"Okay." Speak of the devil, the Doctor entered on cue.

"Tristan, how are we feeling today?" He said, as he walked into the room.

"My head hurts, I'm confused, and I'd like to know what the hell is going on." He said, growing impatient.

"You suffered a mental breakdown recently." The doctor stated simply.

"I'm sorry, a what?" Tristan asked with a raised brow. He sat up straight. His full attention now on the doctor.

"Your mind stopped working all together. You became a reverse paraplegic. Rather than your mind working and not your body, your body was trying to function without your brain, which shut itself down in an attempt to repair some serious damage done to it. You've only been out for 21 hours." The doctor explained.

"Then why can't I remember the last 6 weeks?"

"That's the damage your mind was trying to repair. What ever occurred in the last few weeks did quite the number on you. Your mind has made you forget what happened to avoid the results of those weeks. What was the last thing that you remember?"

"Rory and I… at a party at my house." He said slowly, trying to think if he could remember anything else.

"Hmm… when was this party?"

"The night he was sent to military school. Part of the reason he was sent." Rory answered.

"Thank you, Ms. Gilmore. I'm going to have to ask you, Mr. DuGrey, as well as Mr. Morgan what happened in these last few weeks. I need to know what's happened so we can assess what happened in there." He tapped Tristan's forehead lightly.

"Of course doctor." She nodded solemnly.

-

-

"_We… uh slept together. Then he was sent to military school and I didn't know."_

"_He and Rory slept together… I left the party early as I was summoned back Down Under immediately."_

"_We forgot the condom after our talk… he didn't know that I was on the pill."_

"_My uncle was the only who knew I was awake until Damien came to visit."_

"_Damien came to visit me demanding to know where Tristan was, and told me Ken was awake."_

"_I arrived at Rory's house shortly after Damien had."_

"_The three of them came to visit me. They said they were going to get Tristan. He was the only one I remembered."_

"_We found out where Tristan was from my Grandmother and drove down to the military school…"_

"_He was on the verge of a break down when we got there as he'd had no contact with RG or I."_

"_I thought I stopped it… I… I made it worse…"_

"_We brought him back to CT. But, not to his aunt and uncle or father or grandfather. He hid out in Stars Hollow."_

"_He went to see his grandfather. By now Damien had explained that the dealer, who he had been aiming at in his momentary lapse, had been his uncle. Tristan found out that his uncle was blackmailing his grandfather."_

"_Rory and he fought, so she came to hang out with me, cool off."_

"_When I went back to the house, we fought again…. He'd gone to his uncle's house after his grandfather's. He had the intention of… killing his uncle. But he couldn't. I got scared and ran away from him."_

"_The next thing we knew, we were being told to come to the hospital, because my brother collapsed..."_

_-_

_-_

"I believe, Tristan was moving on with his life six weeks ago. He was finally beginning to cope with the loss of his mother and his brother. He had Rory and Lorelai to help him create a new life and persona in Stars Hollow. However, he was pressured into the party, thus being consequently sent to military school. His life seemed to take its turn for the worst that night after he took Ms. Gilmore home. I think it might be best for Tristan to not know of some of the circumstances of the past, such as Charles' activities, or military school. How many know the, uh, truth?" The doctor spoke.

"Tristan, Rory, Finn, Damien, and myself." Ken replied.

"Alright. I'll keep this all in confidence. However, I now need to speak to your father and your aunt. Your uncle is not permitted into my office. Could you please send them in?"

Ken nodded, and he and Rory exited the room.

"Dad, Aunt Terri. Doctor wants you. Charles you stay here." Ken instructed, as Terri and Kenneth entered the office.

"You're son's life was on the right track until he was sent to military school. I do not believe it was military school that caused this. I believe it was caused more by the situations leading up to and causing him to be sent to military school. I've decided it might be best for Tristan to not be told all of the things that have happened in the last 6 weeks. I've left it up to Ken and Rory to decide what he should and should not know for the time being. I'm going to keep him here a few more days, put him on medication, and I'd like him to see an anger management counselor as well as a therapist. I think all this is what is in Tristan's best interest."

"Very well. When Tristan is released…from the hospital, where do you think he should go?" Tristan's father asked.

"I believe it would do him best to be in Stars Hollow, honestly. It's somewhere where he is not haunted by his past. Also, I'd like him to not return to school for a few weeks."

"Thank you, doctor."

-

-

"So, what do we tell him?" Most of the adults had left to get some sleep, knowing Tristan was awake and okay. Only Ken, Rory, and Finn remained. Damien had joined them. They currently sat in waiting room discussing things, while Kenneth sat with Tristan.

"Are we going to tell him we aren't telling him everything? I mean either way this can blow up in our faces." Damien reasoned.

"True, mate. If we don't tell him and he finds or figures out…then we're screwed. And if we tell him that, then he'll get upset we aren't telling him." Finn voiced, agreeing.

"I think… we should let me tell him." Rory spoke. "I mean, if I tell him, there are things that were harmful to him, that we're all going to do our best to forget, and if need be, we'll tell him in the future. He knows he doesn't remember shit all the time, so this will be one more thing he doesn't remember." Everyone nodded in consent.

"So… what do we tell him?" The question was asked again, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Well, let's start with what happened in our reality, and point out what we don't think he should know." Ken suggested.

"Okay… well he knows we had…" Rory trailed off.

"Will he remember not… using a rubber?" Finn asked.

"I don't know… we could tell him that we didn't, but I was on the pill, all is good. He doesn't need to know that _everyone_ thought I was…" She trailed off knowing they knew what she was talking about.

"Okay… military school?" Ken asked.

"Doc suggested other wise." Finn shook his head.

"How do we explain 6 weeks to him then?" Damien asked smartly.

"Okay, so what _do_ we say to him about it?" Ken smarted back.

"He was in military school, all was good, Ken woke up he came back." Rory cut in, trying to diffuse the situation. No need for them to be fighting. They had enough drama on their hands.

"Don't you think he'll notice all the sugar coating?" Again, Damien played devil's advocate.

Rory sighed in deep contemplation. "Well, smart ass, what do you expect us to do then?"

No one answered. No one had an answer. They were at a loss as to what to do.

-

-

"Hey, babe." Rory greeted entering. Tristan grinned up at her from his place in the bed.

"Mary." He replied by way of greeting. "So, are we, together, or, uh, you know, did we just…" Tristan began stuttering, not really wanting to know the answer to that question. Rory stopped his rambling by kissing him soundly, deafening any of his fears.

"What kind of girl do you take me for, ET?" She said lightly.

"The kind that doesn't just sleep with her best friend just to sleep with him. I just, wanted to make sure, nothing, went… wrong I guess." He said frowning. He hated that he couldn't remember anything.

"Well, we forgot to use a…." She blushed, still not overly willing to discuss such things. Tristan smirked.

"Still my Mary, I see." He ran his hand through her hair as she sat perched on the side of his bed. "What happened? Did you…"

"No, I'm on…" Admitting to your boyfriend that you are on birth control is not something pleasant, nor was it un-embarrassing. No. It was _very_ unpleasant, and _very_ embarrassing. He nodded, letting her know he understood.

"So, what else have I missed?"

"Well…um…given the…uh…the circumstances…we…uh…the doctor that is…and all of us…we… um…decided that…uh…" She stuttered nervously.

"Mare…Spit it out already." He said, trying not to smile at her nervousness.

"We aren't going to tell you everything that's happened." She said it quickly and tensed, bracing for his reaction.

"Okay." It was simple. Understanding. Not what she was expecting.

"_Okay_? That's it, okay? You're not going to demand to know what happened in the last 6 weeks of your life?" She said incredulously.

"Well, obviously I didn't want to remember something, so, why make myself remember it if I don't have to." He shrugged.

"O-kay. But, just so you know, the doctor says that depending on your environment, it can come back to you. The memories are just deeply suppressed at the moment. So, he wants you to go to therapy and an…" She paused, hoping he wouldn't get upset.

"And a…?" He urged.

"Anger mangement." Tristan's face contorted.

"A what? Why?" Rory gave him a pointed look, challenging his question. "Okay, fine. Can you fill me in on the things I _should_ remember. Like, have we had sex again?" He wiggled his eye brows at her. Seeing her blush, he laughed whole heartedly. "Where? Come on, Mary."

"You know for a fact that I am not." She pouted.

"You'll always be my Mary." He whispered, kissing her lightly.

"Finn's back seat." She mumbled but he understood.

"Are you serious?" He laughed.

"Yup. That's it though. We haven't really been back together all that long." His eyesbrows drew together in confusion.

"Back together? What do you mean _back_?" He said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You left for military school that night. Ken woke up while you were there. So, Damien, Finn and I busted you out…" She rambled.

"Damien? And what did I do?"

"Damien came to my house looking for you because Ken had woken up, and he knew you should know, but knew you had disappeared from the public eye, and he doesn't like Charles much, so…" she said with a shrug. She paused for a moment to see how he was taking things so far. When she saw that he seemed ok, she continued.

"When you left the party to take me home, people trashed the house. Someone supposedly stole from your safe, and Terri and Charles didn't know about the party."

"Oh, where was Finn?" He asked.

"Finn left while we were… he had to leave immediately for Australia. Ruby relapsed. But she's fine now." Answering his next question.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Well, we busted you out of military school, and you've been back for about a week, give or take." She said, mentally back tracking to make sure she hadn't left anything out.

"And we've only had sex once?" He said, looking at her seriously.

"Is that all you think about?" Rory asked irritated. He smiled at her reaction.

"No, I'm surprised at myself. 'Tis all, Ror. That's a good thing. I promise." He kissed her again, and she melted like putty.

"Well, that's all I can really tell you without bringing up all the problems that are now in the past. We're all gonna move on from everything the best we can. Oh, and you and Damien made peace. I know that makes no sense, but I can't explain to you why. But you chose it. No one forced you." She said, looking him in the eye, again waiting for a reaction.

"So, everyone's going to feign ignorance to the last 6 weeks?" He asked.

"Basically." She laughed a little.

"Well, I do believe I have six weeks of a relationship to catch up on." He said, pulling her close.

"Sounds good." She sighed as they both leaned in for a kiss.

-

-

Everything would be fine for now. Everyone would try and forget everything that has happened. No need for blackmailing to be revealed, nor to occur. Tristan was home for good. He'd be in Stars Hollow, with his brother and his girlfriend and his father and his best friend. Life would be looking up.

They were all waking up from the nightmare.

Or were they? What will happen when and if Tristan begins to remember? Will they only be sucked further into this tormented world they live in?

The true nightmare has only just begun.


	17. Ch16 Memories Never Fade

**Chapter 16: Memories Never Fade**

Tristan was frustrated. There was no doubt about it. He had been out of the hospital and in his father's new 'apartment' in Stars Hollow all of two days and he was already going insane. Again, smart asses such as myself would add. He was bored. Neither Rory, Kenneth nor Ken would allow him any excitement.

He and Rory had kept things pretty light and easy between them. They watched movies, he'd read to her, played board games. Finn would stop by every now and then. Ken and himself had spent a lot of time getting reacquainted with one another. Tristan was very excited to have his brother back after a year without him. He was even bonding with father again.

Now, many would believe that Kenneth DuGrey was evil. Evil - having the typical meaning of being the uncaring, neglectful, image-centric, control-freak Hartford father. He was very much not. Some would go as far as to compare him to Lorelai, simply. Not as extreme. He knew his boys, he loved his wife faithfully, and work was never more important than his family. He wasn't eccentric like Lorelai, but in terms of parenting they were very alike.

He was strict in a sense, always wanting to know where they were, who they were with. Grounded them for stupid mistakes. The boys would often fight with him, occasionally wish he would disappear and let them be like the rest of society's teens. But Tori and Kenneth were much too young to be like that when they'd started their family. Sometimes, though, Kenneth would yell at them like most other Hartford parents would. He just happened to be able to make up with them afterwards, usually after he fought with Tori about it. She always hated when he yelled at the boys. But the way they'd been raised, it often reflected in the way Kenneth reacted to situations. The family always moved on though, no grudges were held.

Most of Tristan's anger toward his father came from after the accident. When Tristan felt his father turned his back on him. Although, when Tori and Kenneth's relationship hit a rocky period, the boys started to pull away from their father. It caused most of the problems leading up to the accident.

When Tori died, part of Kenneth died as well. Unfortunately for him, Tristan was very much like Tori, where as Ken was like himself. He couldn't handle having one son and not the other, as well as Tristan without Tori. He made the decision to send Tristan to Terri after a few weeks, post accident. He felt like a horrible father for not knowing his sons were doing drugs in the first place, let alone that it had caused such problems with their friends. He knew, of course, of the rift between Ken and Damien, but not the reason. He assumed it was because Damien had slept with the girl Ken liked and that it would blow over. He never expected that it would end so tragically for him.

He still felt the guilt every time he entered the hospital to see Ken, and after he sent Tristan to Terri, stopped visiting him regularly. It was too hard. Then, Tristan began to get worse it seemed, and he had to agree with Charles that military school would be good for him. Knowing he simply sent his son further off the deep end only worsened that guilt. But he was determined to be a better father. He wanted to have a true bond with his sons again. While he was close to his own father, the two weren't as close as Kenneth wanted to be with his own sons.

He also understood Tristan needed time to adjust to having his father back, as well as his brother, but not his mother. Tristan needed space, and Rory.

He was actually quite pleased with Tristan's choice in a girlfriend. The girl was amazing in his eyes. Aside from the fact that she wasn't his typical airhead, bimbo, she was the one closest to him to be able to save him.

At the moment, Tristan had requested the afternoon alone with Rory. Usually, someone else was flittering around, just in case. Either Damien and Ken would be hanging out, or Finn was with them. Occasionally his father joined them. He was getting sick of it and wanted some alone time with his girlfriend. It'd taken him a long journey to get to that point with her, and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers again.

She would be arriving any moment, and then Ken would clear out. They wouldn't leave him alone before hand.

"Ken! Rory's here. _Leave_!" Tristan called getting up to get the door. Once he opened the door, he met Rory with a kiss. "Hey." He said, truly happy to see her. She looked exceptionally sexy to him today.

"Hey." She replied entering the house. Ken called out a faint 'bye' as he left the couple alone.

"So, what's the plan for today?" She asked. He simply shrugged.

"Whatever, I guess." He said simply, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"You request a day alone for no reason?" She inclined an eyebrow in question.

"Yes. So we could be sporadic. Seriously, though, I need something new." He collapsed on to the couch. "Between therapy, anger management, and board games, I think I'm losing my mind again." Rory thought for a moment.

"Hmmm… you know. I think I have an idea of something that you will totally enjoy." He looked at her doubtfully. "C'mon. Trust me." She pulled him up and walked backwards to his bedroom. He smirked at her.

"Mary… what is it that you've got in mind?"

A random memory filtered into Tristan's mind. _"Did Rory 'Mary' Gilmore just proposition me?" _

He smirked at the thought but left the memory for another time.

"Something that requires no thinking at all. Actually, doesn't require that much in the first place." She said before shutting his door behind her.

And they spent their afternoon, locked in Tristan's bedroom.

Opening his eyes, he sighed in content. She was still there, still in his arms, sleeping peacefully like an angel. Another memory entered his mind. _When they'd woken up later on, Tristan smiled down at her. "You okay?"_ _"Amazing."_

He remained watching her, letting images from that first night as well as the last 3 hours play through his mind.

"_We are _so_ not having sex in my mother's house." Rory gasped as Tristan's erection pressed against her core._

"_Well, in case you didn't notice, you have me _very_ excited, and that would just be cruel and unusual punishment to leave me hangin' like this, Mare." He whispered as he nipped at her ear._

"_We are not having sex in my mother's house." She said, her conviction growing weaker._

"_Well, then. I guess we'll just have to do it right here." He leered. Rory paused, considering seriously having sex in Finn's back seat. "I'm sure it's not the first time the seat's gotten some action, but…" He began working on her neck, doing his best to make her fold._

"_If he tries to kill either of us for this, you are _so_ taking the blame." She finally relented, and the two spent the next half hour fogging up Finn's windows._

Tristan smirked, glad he'd remembered that. He felt bad when Rory told him they'd done it, and he couldn't remember. Of course, he at least remembered their first time. He'd have felt like a complete ass if he didn't remember that. It was her first time and that would have been fucked up in his opinion.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Her angelic voice called out to him sleepily.

"Finn's backseat." He murmured, while placing a kiss on her temple.

"You remembered?" She asked shocked.

"Well, I had a slight reminder. Those, 'Oh holy fucking shit, Tristan…', 'Oh god, yes…', and 'Oh Tristan's!', really did the trick." He said with a smirk. She blushed deeply at his words. She still couldn't believe she'd done that. Every time they were together, she seemed to get worse.

"You _suck_." She pouted. He sucked her pouting lip between hers and bit on it gently.

"Only when you ask." He whispered seductively, after letting her lip go. "Besides, I love hearing you like that."

"Really?" She was genuinely surprised at that.

"Yeah, let's me know I'm doing it right. Gotta make sure my baby's pleased." He said sweetly. She smiled at his words.

"Since when did you become such a softie?" She teased. His eyes took a serious glint as his voice dropped.

"The moment I fell in love with you." She was left speechless at his words, and could only respond physically by kissing him passionately.

"I love you." He mumbled against her lips as they began getting physical again.

"I love you, too." She whispered herself, but no other words were exchanged for quite sometime after that.

-

-

The next few weeks became more fun for Tristan. He and Rory seemed to be attached at the hip. She would go to therapy with him once a week. Rory learned a lot of things about Tristan she hadn't known; mostly things about his father and brother. Those topics were always, off limits it seemed. Unfortunately, Tristan had been remembering random things, and Rory was getting worried.

"So, Tristan, today, I'd like to talk about the drugs, if you don't mind. Or is that something you'd rather discuss in one of our private sessions?" His therapist queried.

"No, that's fine. I, uh, I think that something I want Rory to know." He looked over at her and then down at their joined hands sitting in his lap. "Something I _need_ for her to know." Rory nodded her agreement, secretly having wanted to know what started all of this in the first place.

"When did you start?" The doctor asked.

"When I was 15, I guess." He answered.

"Why? Where were you? Who were you with?" Came the next questions.

"Ken and I went to a party and just wanted to let loose. It'd been a shitty week and we needed a break. Some of the guys Damien hung out with were there and they had weed on them. So, naturally, the DuGrey boys had to do it, too. We couldn't be shown up, now could we?" He asked sarcastically. Rory squeezed his hand gently.

"What had happened?"

"Our parents were fighting. It was weird. They rarely fought. The only times they seemed to fight was when Ken or I fucked up. I'd get a bad grade, Dad would flip his lid. Mom would say I know you can better, sweetie. But Dad would go off on me being lazy and how I needed to apply myself more. Then Mom would yell at him, telling him he sounded just like his father. I love my grandfather, so I never really understood that. But I guess _my_ grandfather and _his_ father are two different people, right? Anyway, Mom and Dad were fighting more than normal and we were taking it hard." He sighed and his free hand ran through his hair.

"The coke didn't start for a few weeks, months even. It was when Mom accused Dad of having an affair. We took that really hard. We always thought, that you know, we were the lucky ones. Our parents weren't out screwing other people. Love really existed. It shattered our world, you could say. It turned out that he'd cheated on her once after their problems started, not before, and that he was so guilty about it he avoided her as much as he could."

"Whenever they'd fight, Ken, Damien, Finn and I would get trashed. Damien and Finn didn't care, they were having fun. Ken and I were dealing with our pain. Even after Mom and Dad made up, Ken became so addicted. I was able to back off for the most part. I never really got into the coke." He finished shrugging. After a momentary pause, the doctor spoke.

"That explains a lot about your problems with your father. Did your parents know of the drugs?"

"No. Not until after Mom died." Tristan answered softly.

"Did you continue the drugs after the accident?" The doctor probed.

"_Yes_." He replied, rather ashamed. "At first, I swore I wouldn't. It caused all the problems in the first place. But, then the more I thought about, the more I blamed Damien. I still blame Damien because I don't know why I forgave him. But, I realized the drugs worked. I needed them. And I started the coke again. Charles found out, and all hell seemed to break loose." He said, his leg twitching nervously as he continued his story.

"Terri didn't care about the drinking. She tried to curb it as best she could, but…Charles and I got into a fight about the drugs. He's such a hypocrite." He said bitterly, then looked a bit confused by his outburst. Rory froze. "_That_ came out of nowhere." He commented to himself.

Rory looked to the therapist for help, to move the conversation on. If Tristan dwelled on it too long, she wouldn't be able to prevent the memories from coming back. Thankfully, they picked up on it.

"And now? Are you still on the drugs?" The therapist asked, quickly making Tristan forget about his sudden declaration.

"No." He replied proudly, and looked over at Rory, smiling. "Not since Rory."

"Why? What did Rory do? Did she ask you to stop?"

"No. She didn't know." He said shaking his head, as she squeezed his hand again in reassurance. "I went into a rage at a party and scared the shit out of her. Summer was one thing, but the fear in Rory's eyes got to me. I didn't like what I'd become. And she offered to help me change into someone I was proud of. I just neglected to tell her about the drugs until I was off of them for a couple of months. I didn't know if I'd be able to stop, and didn't want to disappoint her. That and I had to do it for me, not her." He said somberly.

"That's very true. Most addicts who quit for someone else usually end up relapsing. Do you ever long for the feeling?"

"I've found something much better to replace it…" He smiled at Rory, squeezing her hand, "but, occasionally, yeah. Shit gets tough and I find myself looking for a cigarette or something, _anything_."

"And the drinking?"

"I haven't had a drink since that same night." He replied honestly.

"That's a lot to accomplish, Mr. DuGrey. Not many can do that. Especially with all of the stress in your life."

"I'm just lucky I guess." He said shrugging.

-

-

Today was going to suck. He could feel it. Tristan would be going back to school today. At least he'd have Rory on his arm and Finn by his side. He was even grateful for Damien at this point. He still blamed him, but learned to tolerate him once more. He rolled over looking for Rory, who had spent the night with him. Lorelai had flipped at the suggestion initially, but relented when Rory begged. Rory however was not in his bed. He heard the shower running and got up.

Sticking his head in. he looked at the floor. Rory's bra and underwear lay discarded. He smirked and angled his neck to see into the shower. Yup, it was Rory. He quickly stripped and stepped in the shower behind her. She was bopping her head to whatever was playing inside it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her entire body tense as she jumped, shrieking a bit.

"Relax, Mary." He whispered in her ear. And she did.

"I was hoping to be done before you woke up." She said softly.

"I woke up early. Sorry." He kissed her shoulder blade. Smiling, she turned to him.

"This is weird." She said scrunching up her nose at him.

"Taking a shower together?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No. I mean, yes, but no. How normal it feels. Like it always has been and always will be like this. It's not awkward. I'm not embarrassed…" She rambled.

"I have seen you naked before, Ror…" He cut her off.

"I know, I mean…" She floundered a bit for an explanation before Tristan stopped her.

"I get it." He paused for a moment. "_Always_ will be?" She blushed realizing her words. He laughed. Pouting she turned around again. "Mary…" He whined into her ear. "You really mean that? You wouldn't mind spending the rest of your life with me?" He paused. "Or at least showering with me…"

"That's why it's weird. I've never felt like this, Tris. It scares me." He held her tighter, and turned her to him.

"It shouldn't. Why does it scare you?" He asked looking into her eyes.

"I thought I lost you…" A few tears slipped from the corner of her eyes. "I've never been so scared in my life, Tristan. Every time I think about it…"

"Don't." His voice was pleading with her. "Don't think about it. Please, Rory…"

"I can't help it." She whispered brokenly.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Nothing's gonna take me from you again." Rory just cried into his chest, letting the frustration of the last few weeks pour out. "I _love_ you, Rory. And someday, in the future, very far future, we're going to be married, with a family, and we won't be able to take a shower together because we'll have little TJ and Mary and Lori running around." Rory sniffled and looked up at him.

"You named our kids?" Now it was his turn to blush. "Awe, Tris." She smiled as she leaned up to kiss him. Tristan took the opportunity to deepen it and pressed her against the shower wall.

They were interrupted by a knock. "Hey, hurry up! I need to shower, too! And don't leave anything gross in there if you catch my drift!" Ken yelled through the door.

Tristan groaned. "I _hate_ you, Ken!" He yelled back. Rory giggled.

"Hurry up." She kissed his cheek and got out, having been mostly done already when he came in.

-

A few minutes later Tristan entered his room to find Rory almost fully dressed for school and doing her hair.

"No fair! I was hoping we could finish what we started…." He whined.

"You already took a cold shower." She said simply.

"How do you know?" he asked pulling on a pair of boxers.

"Because there isn't half as much steam as there was." She said smugly. He didn't reply and simply went back to getting ready. They moved around one another as they continued to get ready. Suddenly, Tristan stopped.

"You're right." He said cryptically.

"That you took a cold shower?" She asked, looking at him questioningly.

"No, it seems so clock-worked. And yet, this is the first time we've ever been like this." He said looking at her.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked nervously.

"Definitely not." He kissed her as he put his tie on. "God, I hate this thing." He looked down at himself.

"But you look _so_ damn sexy." Rory replied with a smile.

"So they tell me." He said arrogantly. Suddenly, the smile wasn't on Rory's face anymore. "What's wrong?" He asked, noting her change of mood.

"I…I just…nothing. Don't worry about it." She said giving him a tight smile as she moved away from him, putting her necklace on.

"No, Rory, tell me." He begged.

"At school…The girls…" She tried explaining. "They're always all over you. Now that you're back after being gone for weeks…" She trailed off before looking up at him.

"And you and Finn will be there to help me beat them off. Besides, I totally intend on pushing you against a locker and making them all jealous." He said seriously. She couldn't help but blush. Secretly, she'd wanted that since the first encounter of Tristan and some random female against her locker. "Come on. Finn's probably waiting." He said, stretching out his hand for her to take.

They left Tristan bedroom, and stopped short when they saw Finn, Damien, and Ken all sitting at the table eating.

"Ken, where the hell are you going?" Tristan yelled.

"Chilton." He replied simply.

"_Oh..._this will be interesting." Rory commented. "Come on, boys, we're going to be late." The three eating all protested about not being done yet. "_Now_." Was her only reply. They all sighed and put their dishes in the sink.

-

-

Finn's SUV pulled into it's parking space, and out filed the DuGrey boys, their best friends, and the younger DuGrey's girlfriend. Everyone outside watched curiously. The real show started when Tristan walked in holding Rory's hand, with Ken next to him. The silence in the halls was similar to that of a deafening roar.

"Today should be fun." Damien remarked from behind them, his voice the only sound breaking through the silence. Today would be fun indeed.


	18. Ch17 As The Shit Hits The Fan

Hey! So, first off, a very big thanks to my beta, LoVe23 who is amazing. She beta'd and updated the last chapter for me because I left for Gov School before she got it done. She's awesome. And thank you to all my reviewers. It was fun checking my mail while I was gone and having my friends in awe at the number of emails and the amazing reviews to my writing. You made me look great! XD. Anywho. Sorry it took almost 2 months to update. Or was it only a month? I don't remember. Here's the new chapter.

**Chapter 17: As The Shit Hits The Fan...**

An eerie silence had befallen the hallway. Even the sound coming from the other halls seemed to have melted away, as people came to the intersections of them. Damien's words lifted the spell off some of the students, namely Paris, Louise and Madeline.

"DuGreys." She tilted her head in greeting. "Glad to see you both back from the dead." Madeline launched herself at Ken, while Louise hugged Tristan. Then, of course, they switched. But neither missed how Tristan didn't let go of Rory, even while hugging them back.

"Paris." The boys replied in unison.

Suddenly, everyone was finally moving again. Many of Tristan and Ken's 'friends' came up to them asking what happened, how they'd missed them, and other various forms of ass kissing. Rory was talking to the girls, while the boys were trying to get away from the mass around them.

"So, you're like, together now?" Louise asked.

"For, like, real this time?" Madeline added. Rory blushed a little, and smiled none the less. Shooting a glance at Tristan, she noticed his eyes trained on her, basically ignoring the people around him. She smiled brightly at him, which he returned.

"Yeah. For real this time." She said happily.

The girls squealed.

A loud voice suddenly broke through most of the crowded hallway. "Students, get to class. The bell rang 5 minutes ago!" Everyone looked around surprised. As the halls suddenly began to empty, Rory said goodbye to the girls, and headed back to Tristan.

"Come on, babe. You have to go see Charleston." She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. The 3 guys he'd been talking to made a face at the affection, but even more at the smile gracing his face. That was not the King of Chilton.

"Sure, babe." He turned around in her arms and kissed her softly. He broke away and began to lead her down the hall.

The boys sighed. At least they had Ken back. He could 'rule' them again.

"You, too, Kenny. Come on, now." Ken quickly followed with a short 'Yes, ma'am.'

'Or…maybe not.' The boys thought.

-

-

"Dude! Tell me he's at _least_ banging her." A classmate was begging Ken, who was trying to politely fend off a few girls at once.

"First off, what is it to you who he's fucking? And two, it's none of your business…" Ken began in an irritated voice.

"And three, leave Rory and me alone." Tristan towered over the idiot, who scoffed but didn't argue.

"Good, now can you get _them_ to go away?" Ken whispered.

"Ladies, didn't you know that Ken has a girlfriend?" Tristan told them smoothly. Suddenly the girls were all ears.

"Who?" One demanded. Ken watched the word forming on his brother's lips.

"Don't you even…" Ken began frantically, but Tristan didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him.

"Madeline." He said with a smirk.

"-dare." Ken finished in a defeated voice. The girls were already far away from the two of them. Every girl in the school feared two girls: Summer and Paris. By association, people knew to not piss off Louise or Maddie either. Now, however, with the news that Tristan and Rory were official, Rory was added to that list. Tristan was said to be whipped, and would do whatever she asked, and she was friends with Paris. That was deadly.

"Why did you just tell them that?" Ken hissed.

"What, don't you like Maddie anymore?" Tristan asked, feigning innocence.

"Why do I have the feeling that I should be murdering you right now?" Ken asked with narrowed eyes.

"Don't know. Maybe you should ask Damien." Tristan replied slightly cynically.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Ken asked agitatedly.

"The past is the past. Time to move on." Tristan shrugged.

"Tristan!" Ken warned. Tristan just shrugged as the teacher began the lesson.

The day continued similarly. Tristan answering questions about being gone and his new relationship; Ken being asked the same. Rory was hounded for details by many and floating in a sea of glares from the rest. Finn and Damien suffered similar fates.

-

-

Tristan sighed, dropping his head to rest against the cool table in the middle of the library. Rory sat next to him, looking equally exhausted. One by one the other three of their group joined them.

"Today..." Finn started walking up to them.

"Isn't even half over." Damien finished coming from the other side.

"You always this joyous Dame?" Ken quipped from behind him.

"Actually…" Damien began.

"Yes." The other three cut him off. They all laughed before collapsing into their chairs again.

"When do you think it'll be over?" Rory questioned.

"School ends at 2:30..." Damien, once again supplied. Rory glared.

"I think she meant the draining feeling." Tristan reiterated.

"Not for awhile..." Finn spoke sadly.

"Damn you two!" Rory snapped. Whether she meant Tristan and Ken or Finn and Damien, nobody was quiet sure, but all agreed nonetheless.

"Well, my day wouldn't have been half as bad if _someone_ didn't tell people I was dating Maddie."

The others laughed at the glare Ken sent at Tristan.

"Well, it got the girls to stop hitting on you." Tristan said through his laughter.

"And it got Paris to actually hit me." Ken mumbled.

"Oh…sorry?" Tristan weakly offered.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Finn broke it.

"I need to get laid..." He whined. Damien agreed.

"So do I, but we know Tristan doesn't..." Ken smirked. Rory turned crimson, but retorted regardless.

"Awe, jealous Kenny?" Rory asked.

"Yes. Every night, baby. You're always in my dreams. I can't help it. Rory... Rory! Oh god, Rory... ugh!" He paused watching his brother's face. "Oh wait, sorry, that's what wakes me up. Those are Tristan's dreams." It was Tristan's turn to blush a little.

"Really now?" Finn asked. "And what pray tell do these dreams include, Tris?"

"Shut it." Tristan gritted.

"Oh come on. We know the two of you go at it like rabbits." Finn continued.

"Can we please not discuss _our…"_ he gestured toward the vacant seat of Rory. "..sex life…" He trailed off, seeing that she wasn't there. It was now that everyone realized Rory wasn't sitting at the table anymore. "Wait, where is she?" Everybody shrugged. Tristan slammed his fist into the table lightly while swearing. He, too, left the table.

"Oops." Ken shrugged. Finn just half smiled along with a shrugging Damien.

-

-

Tristan found Rory in another part of the library, facing a window to stare out of it. Her knees in her chest, head tilted into an open palm. He approached and began rubbing her shoulders.

"What's wrong, baby?" He whispered in her ear.

"I…" She paused for a moment. "I told you this morning it was going to be hard."

"I know. But you were fine until the boys started being stupid, weren't you?" He asked.

"No!" Rory exclaimed softly, not wanting to raise her voice too much. "I just didn't show it. The boys just made it worse."

"Talk to me, Mare." He begged.

"I... I just- sometimes I feel like... like the reason you're with me is because you're just sleeping with me. But then you prove to me how much you love me, and I forget about it. Then the boys bring it up, and you don't brag or anything like I've heard you do a million times about other girls. And I can't help but feel like I'm not worth bragging about and then I think that you're going to cheat on me because I can't keep you happy in that sense." She ranted.

"Rory..." Tristan said, trying to break her train of thought.

"No... I mean. That's how I feel. I know, it's stupid..." She began sounding sheepish.

"Rory. If I was going to cheat on you, I wouldn't bother being with you. I thought you'd rather me _not_ discuss the details of our sex life with guys at all, much less _in front_ of you. And lastly, you are more than worth bragging about." He said seriously. She opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly cut her off.

"Jesus, that thing you do with your tongue... the way you moan... the way you arch into me... how perfect you fit under me... the way you claw at my back... the... the way you gnaw at your lip trying your best not to scream... the way you turn me on simply by smiling at me... the way I'd rather make love to you once than fuck a supermodel for the rest of my life. I love you, Rory. I'm not going anywhere. Do you get that yet?" His tone turned desperate as he sought for her to understand his words.

"I love you, too." She whispered. "I get it. I'm just scared. I've never felt this way or this strongly before and it honestly scares the shit out of me. I feel like I can spend the rest of my life with you and that I think I'd die if anything happened to you again..." She said, her voice breaking into a sob towards the end.

"Baby..." He fell apart in front of her as she did, too. Had anyone ventured into the library looking for them, they would have found the two on the floor holding one another, crying. While Rory had gotten a lot of her tears out that morning, there were still many more that needed to be shed. Because Tristan, too, needed to cry.

-

-

Ken entered his last class and sat down next to Rory. "Hey, Ror."

"I'm still mad at you." She mumbled, not bothering to look at him.

The teacher interrupted their conversation, but then assigned them to work in pairs. Ken immediately moved his desk next to Rory's. Once they were free to work, he began talking again.

"For what? Ror, I was just kidding. It was to embarrass my brother, not you." He explained.

"Yeah, well, you did. And when you embarrassed him, you made the King of Chilton seem embarrassed to be sleeping with little old inexperienced Mary." She bit out.

"Oh please." Ken rolled his eyes.

"_What_?" Rory got defensive.

"I heard you two in the shower this morning. Mary my ass." He scoffed.

"Then why did you interrupt us? Shouldn't you be happy at least _one_ of you is getting laid?" She asked defensively, while at the same time trying to hide her embarrassment at his statement.

"Not in _my_ shower!" Ken sighed. "Look, this might backfire a bit, but Tristan does talk about you two…ya know. But just with me. You should see his face. It's priceless. He gets this mesmerized look, and I swear he gets turned on just by the memories of it. Although, that's a little freaky." Ken's face took on a look of disgust for a moment. "He doesn't like bragging about you to the boys because that's not why he's with you. He doesn't want to give anyone that impression. They're going to think it either way, he's just trying to not enforce it." Ken shrugged.

"Oh. He didn't say that earlier when we talked about it." She said slightly appeased by his explanation.

"What did he tell you? Most likely it was in guy terms." Ken said knowingly.

"That I was worth bragging about…" She whispered.

"Meaning, yes, I want to brag about you, but I respect you too much to do that. But, I also do brag about you, I just don't want to admit it so you don't think I'm just an asshole pig." Ken translated.

"Wow. All that was in one sentence?" She said trying to hold back her smile.

"Yes." Ken replied sagely.

"I thought it was only girls that were supposed to make everything seem more confusing?" She mused.

"Oh, they do. See, girls say shit like 'Oh, if you want to hang out with her, go ahead. I don't care.' Really meaning, 'I'm giving you the choice to be stupid and go hang out with another girl or to be the perfect boyfriend and either invite me along or not go at all.' They have ulterior motives in their words." Rory nodded in agreement. "Guys, though… guys tend to leave things out. They want to say things, but don't. They think they're conveying everything they need to, when really, they're not. Guys are simpletons. A girl will go on for twenty minutes when a guy will cover it in twenty words or less."

"That makes sense. So when a guy says something like 'You're looking especially beautiful today.' It means something like 'You look beautiful to me everyday, but today you look absolutely gorgeous?" she asked seriously.

"Something like that, yeah." Ken laughed. "What else did he say that is confusing you?"

"If I was going to cheat on you, I wouldn't bother being with you. I mostly understand it, but I feel like I'm missing something." She said with her brows furrowed in confusion.

"He loves you too much to cheat on you. If you couldn't keep him happy and he felt himself straying, he'd just break up with you rather than hurt you more by cheating on you. Tristan doesn't do relationships because he doesn't like cheating. No one's ever caught his attention like you have." Ken said, his tone sounding more serious than in their previous conversation.

Rory thought for a moment, "What about Summer?" she asked pointedly.

"_Please_. That was joke. That wasn't a relationship. They were together at first for the status and because she was a good lay. Then she started cheating on him, and he just didn't give a shit. But he stayed with her because he liked the stability of knowing, that regardless that she was fucking someone else, she was still his. Still there for him. Then, you came into his life, and he didn't need Summer to give him that false sense of security. He knew you wouldn't abandon him. I think that's why he lost it in Military School. He thought you'd abandoned him, too." Rory was silent for a moment before the teacher finally interrupted their conversation.

"Miss Gilmore, Mister DuGrey. Have you managed to get any work done, yet?" At their guilty looks, and Rory quickly resuming her work, the teacher continued her reprimanding. "Mr. DuGrey, we're happy to have you back, but please, do your work. And Miss Gilmore, I'm very surprised at you." Rory blushed and apologized.

"Okay," Ken leaned over to her quickly and whispered, "Maybe you are still a Mary." Rory glared as he went back to his work.

-

-

After school, Tristan was waiting for Rory at her locker. When she got there, he promptly twirled her around so her back met the cool steel. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and anticipation.

"Tris…?" She half asked.

"Shh." He whispered as he kissed her softly at first, but the passion grew. Finally, though, a few minutes later Finn came in and tapped Tristan's shoulder.

"Tristan. Rory. Let's goooooo. I want out of here!" The two broke apart and Rory pouted at Finn.

"You suck, Finn." She whimpered while opening her locker.

The boys simply laughed. When she was done, Tristan grabbed her hand and her backpack as they made their way to the car.

While the other three were inside, Ken turned from the passenger's seat, to Damien in the back.

"Hey, Damien, can ask you something?" He asked, looking at his friend.

"Sure, what?" Damien asked, looking towards the school to see if the others were coming yet.

"You know how Tristan told those girls I was dating Maddie?" Ken asked.

"Uh, yeah…" Damien stuttered, thrown off by Ken's question.

"Well, Tris asked me if I didn't like Maddie anymore, but I don't remember ever liking her; and I asked why I felt I should be murdering him, and he said to ask you. Then he said something like 'Maybe it's time to move on from the past'." Ken asked, clearly confused.

Damien stayed quiet for a few moments collecting his thoughts. "You know how you and I were fighting before the accident?" Ken nodded. "It was over a girl. Not much of a Mary, per say. But she was to you what Rory was to Tristan. The first girl to really catch your attention and keep it." Damien explained.

"She'd just transferred into Chilton from Andover at the beginning of the year. We hadn't seen her in years. Well, you'd been flirting with her for weeks. You didn't want to just fuck her and be done. You wanted her to see that you really wanted to be with her. Well, I didn't like that things were changing. So, at a party, when she was utterly smashed, I took her upstairs. Tristan saw us. I was going to tell you that I saw her going upstairs with someone, leaving out the part that it was me. Tristan talked to you first." Damien sighed. "It was Maddie."

"Now I understand why Tristan hates you so much." Ken said, in an even tone.

"Ken…" Damien said, trying to explain.

"Just, leave it." Ken said in the same soft tone. Damien nodded and slumped back into his seat while Ken looked straight ahead. Stupid Tristan.

-

-

The boys dropped Rory off at home, and headed back to their apartment. When they got there, Kenneth informed them they were going out to dinner with Terri and Charles. Immediately, Ken started to object.

"Dad, no. Please."

"What's wrong with your aunt and uncle?" Kenneth asked confused.

"It's just. You know we don't like Charles. And…Terri's all hormonal. Either we'll be ignoring her, or we'll have to hear all about the baby and stuff." Ken supplied lamely.

"Well, I already told them we'd be going. It'd be rude to not go. After all, it was my idea." Kenneth explained.

"Well, then, um…" Ken racked his brain as Tristan stared at him confused. "Oh! Got it. We'll bring Rory. We all like Rory. And Terri and Rory can talk about the baby and stuff, we can ignore Charles, and you can entertain Charles."

"Works for me." Tristan shrugged.

"I suppose." Kenneth replied curiously. "Tell her to be ready by 6:30. We're meeting them at 7."

Tristan dutifully ran off to call his girlfriend. After he left, Kenneth turned to his eldest.

"What, pray tell, was that about?" He asked, looking at Ken suspiciously.

"Just, trust me, Dad." Ken breathed out.

"Rory said to tell you, 'Thank you for including her. She hopes she's not intruding." Tristan said as he walked back into the room.

"Nonsense. I happen to be quite fond of that girl." Kenneth smiled.

-

-

Everyone had been making small talk at the beginning of dinner. Rory and Ken did their best to keep Tristan's attention off of Charles.

"So, Tristan, how goes the memory?" Charles asked curiously.

"It's fine. I still don't remember certain things, but we've decided it'd be for the best if I don't." Tristan shrugged.

"Hmm…Interesting." Something in his tone caught Tristan's attention. He continued to study Charles every chance he got, which was hard consider Rory and Ken kept involving him in conversations. But once they finally realized he wasn't going to stay interested in any conversation, Rory got a not so Mary-like idea. She began running her hand up his thigh, catching his attention. Once his attention started to drift again, her hand moved higher until she cupped him. His head turned quickly to look at her, but she was talking about the baby with Terri. He saw the corner of her lips turn upward slightly, but nothing else giving away what exactly her hand was doing under the table. His eyes started to roll into the back of his head as she began to run her fingers up and down.

"Tristan, are you all right, son?" Kenneth asked and Rory's hand stilled.

"Just, not feeling all that well at the moment." He choked out.

"Oh, maybe we should head home then." Kenneth offered, giving him a concerned look.

"No, it's fine." He managed to choke out again.

"Well, maybe Rory can take Tristan home in his car?" Ken suggested. He was quite thankful that Tristan brought his own car so he could hang out with Rory after dinner.

"Sure, no problem." Rory replied, before giving Tristan a meaningful look that only Ken caught. He rolled his eyes, and Rory mouthed a 'bite me' to him. He stifled a laugh. Tristan looked between the two bemused.

"Alright, then. Mary." He pulled her chair back. "Goodnight Aunt Terri, Charles." He paused before squatting next to his aunt's stomach, talking to it. "Little cousin." Rory smiled at him.

"Thank you for inviting me. It was a pleasure. Good night." Rory said as Tristan stood.

"The pleasure was ours dear. Good night. Get some rest, ok Tris?" Terri said in a kind tone. Ken snorted at his aunt's obliviousness.

"Of course." Tristan smiled.

-

-

Rory was driving already before Tristan finally commented.

"So, what was all that about?" He asked bluntly.

"What was all what about?" She responded innocently.

"The continuous need for me to be involved in the conversation by both you _and_ Kenny. And the, uh…" He paused for dramatic effect as he skillfully dragged his hand from her knee to the top of her thigh. "_Touching_."

"You were being rude?" Rory tried. His fingers began drawing circles on her inner thigh.

"Nuh uh." He said, clearly not buying it.

"Um…" She was having a lot of difficulty concentrating on driving and thinking of an excuse at the same time.

"I'll let you off the hook this time…" Tristan began, as he leaned close to her ear. Luckily, they were at a red light, or Rory might have swerved, "If you promise to finish what you started." His husky voice whispered.

Rory simply flashed him a smile, but drove a little faster than normal.

-

-

Rory had ended up spending the night with Tristan. After he'd fallen asleep, Rory called Lorelai explaining what happened with dinner and Lorelai begrudgingly conceded to letting her stay.

However, later on while Rory slept peacefully in her boyfriends arms, Tristan was having some troublesome dreams.

Everything was coming back to him full force, haunting him. Even before the breakdown, he'd blocked certain memories from his mind. But tonight, something had snapped.

_-_

_He was laughing. Then there were tires screeching. Then there were headlights and his mother and brother flying backward._

"_Mom!" He'd screamed. Then everything went black._

_-_

_It was pouring outside and he was sure he heard thunder off in the distance. It was the perfect weather for his mother's funeral. Not only did it match his mood, but his mother loved thunderstorms. He was in a daze as the casket was lowered._

_As everyone began leaving, his dad turned to him, asking him if he was ready to go. He said he'd leave with Finn. After everyone but Finn left, he dropped to his knees, crying. _

_-_

_He was drunk. It was the night after his mother had been buried. He'd been inebriated since Finn drove him home. He was stumbling a bit as Summer came in. She looked a little scared when he came near her. He all but dragged her to his bed. It was the first night of many when she'd given in out of fear, not want. She thought it would help him. It only helped turn him into the monster he'd become._

_-_

_He wasn't drunk yet. Slightly buzzed at the most. He was looking for Summer. When he found her she was coming out of the bathroom with another guy. She looked petrified for a moment, before her mask of indifference easily fell into place. He looked at her in disgust for a moment before leaving._

_An hour later he was trashed and looking for Summer again. When he found her, he dragged her to one of the bedrooms._

'_You're mine. Don't think for a fucking second that because you decide to be a slut and fuck someone else that you aren't.'_

_And she never again felt guilty for cheating on him._

_-_

_His father was yelling at him. Telling him _he_ couldn't deal with this anymore. _He_ was sending him to live with his aunt and uncle. His father was abandoning him. He didn't listen to most of what else his father had said. He hated his father at that moment, the most he'd ever hated him in his life._

_-_

_His uncle was yelling at him. Telling him to lay off the drugs. They weren't helping him any. Charles threatened to send him to military school, telling him he was useless. He lost all respect he'd remotely had for his uncle then._

_-_

_He was drunk again. He was close to puking as his aunt helped him up the stairs. He made it to the top before he took off to the bathroom. His aunt rubbed his back as he started crying. He dropped his head into her lap and sobbed some more. "I'm sorry, Mommy." Terri opted that night, that every night he was ever like this, she'd play along with his mind. She'd let him pretend she was his mother. But he always knew the truth._

_-_

_He was fighting with Charles. He was being sent to military school. He began packing and realized he and Rory weren't safe when they had sex. And she didn't answer her phone._

_-_

_He was talking to Damien. The words were fuzzy and all he could make out was 'Drugs' and 'Charles'._

_-_

_He was sitting in his car outside of his aunt's house. He was going to see Charles. He didn't know why._

_-_

_He was arguing with Rory. He'd scared her. She ran from him. Lorelai's words haunted him and he, too, ran._

_-_

_He sped to his mother's grave. He quickly got out and knelt in front of it. He was close to throwing up when everything went black. _

_-_

Tristan woke up with a start, waking Rory up in the process.

"Baby, you alright?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah…go back to sleep." He replied, still somewhat dazed from his nightmares.

"Tris, what happened?" She asked, becoming more alert at the tone in his voice.

"I just, I had a nightmare, or several. I was just remembering things." He said, still trying to make sense of it all.

"Like what?" She asked softly.

"Well, everything that happened with Mom's death, and then everything with Summer…and military school. I remembered talking to Damien about Charles and drugs, but I couldn't understand most of my conversation. Then I was outside of Terri's house, going to see Charles. Then I guess when I blacked out at the grave." He explained, with a look of concentration.

"Oh, well. What do you say we get your mind off of it, then you can go back to sleeping like a baby like you were before?" She suggested, crawling on top of him.

"Mmm…." As much as he liked the thought of round two for the night, he knew something was up.

"But, I'd rather you explain to me why you keep seducing me." He said, finally looking her in the eye.

"What do you mean?" She said, not able to hold his gaze.

"I'm serious about this, Ror. Why is it every time Charles is around, you and Ken are trying to distract me, and every time I start to remember things or start thinking about things, you suddenly can't wait to get me in bed?" He said, his eyes narrowing.

"We agreed that we wouldn't tell you certain things. We're just trying to keep you from remembering them!" She defended.

"No. We agreed to not tell me things. We never said anything about keeping me from remembering." He said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Tristan it's for everyone's good that you don't remember." She said softly, looking him in the eye.

"It has something to do with Charles, doesn't it? All of this, has to do with him?" He said starting to piece things together.

Rory's silence was answer enough.


	19. Ch18 Mood Swings

Hey! Sorry this took so long. And that its short. I'd hit a short road block with this story. Once again, I know the ending, and am finding difficulty getting there. So, no, this isn't the ending. And again sorry for it taking so long. Real life caught up with both me and my beta, so... The beta'd version should be coming soon. I figured ya'll waited long enough, so... I've gotten over one hurtle, let's see if I can jump the next too! Enjoy! and please R&R... please?

**Chapter 18: Mood Swings**

The silence was suffocating them. Rory couldn't answer his question. He was right, they'd only agreed on not telling him, not forbidding him from remembering. She should have known he'd piece it all together eventually. He was pretty smart, after all. Her lip quivered as she fought to keep herself from answering. But by the look in his darkened eyes, he knew the answer already.

"Tell me the fucking truth, Rory, right now, or I'll just go ask Kenny, or Finn, or fucking Damien-" He was gesturing wildly, as she coward away from him.

"I- I can't. You can't remember…. Tris, please." She whimpered. She was scared. There was no doubt in that. She loved him, but right now she feared him. There were no drugs or alcohol in his system. There was nothing impairing his judgment. This was him. This was the monster that'd been buried so long.

"What does any of this have to do with Charles, Rory? Tell me!"

"It- it doesn't matter. There's nothing we can do to change the past, and there is nothing we can do now. It'll just hurt so many people, all over again. Needlessly at that."

"What about me, Ror?! Don't my feelings fucking matter?! I want to know why I feel like I want to murder someone-" As the words left Tristan's mouth, Rory seemed to shrink even further into the bed to escape him. "I want to know why I'm not allowed to blame the only person I know to blame for my mother's death. For my brother being gone for so long. For me to not be able to remember 6 weeks of my damn life."

Gathering as much bravado as she could, she held fast to her beliefs. "Tristan, do you love me?"

"What? Yes. What does that have to do with this conversation?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Rory…"

"Tristan."

"Yes, I trust you."

"Then please, don't force the memories to come back. If they come back, they come back. If I tell you the truth, all of the hurt, the anger, and helplessness… it comes backs. You were happy, you are happy… I don't want to take that away now… please just trust my judgment." She begged him.

He paused, taking in her words. He thought for a moment before answering, "Answer two questions and Ill drop it."

"Tristan…"

"Rory."

"Fine. What?"

"First, will the truth hurt Terri?"

"Very much so for no reason. It will cause Terri so many problems that can be avoided."

"Hmm. Okay, is he in danger of hurting Terri?"

"I don't think so anymore. But, that's something Ken and I will find out, I promise."

"Okay." He was silent for a few moments, letting the information sink in. If it was going to cause Terri problems and heartache, then he would just let it go. It was selfish of him to hurt her just to have answers he forced himself to forget.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. Rory crawled over to him as he opened his arms for her.

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Tris. So much."

"I know." He smiled at her as he laid her back on the bed. "Let's take my mind off of all this, okay?"

She smiled brightly at him as his lips touched hers in a slow yet passionate kiss. Who cares if they had school in the morning and it was 2 am? Certainly not them.

-

-

Rory had managed to get in and out of the shower before Tristan woke up the next morning. Evidentially, she'd worn him out last night, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. She entered his bedroom in just a towel. He opened his eyes and stared at her a bit.

"Now that, is not very nice, Mary."

A little startled, Rory jumped. "Hey. Come on, get up." She turned back around.

"Too late." He mumbled, but pulled on his boxers anyway.

Once again, the two worked around each other, getting ready for school in perfect sync.

"Have I mentioned how much I enjoy this?" Tristan asked, looking over at her while fixing his tie.

"Enjoy what?" She asked slipping on her shoes.

"Getting ready with you in the morning?"

"Softy." She smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

A loud banging resounded on the door. "Tris, Ror, let's go." Kenny whined impatiently.

Rory opened the door. "Well, slow poke here decided that after he slept so long to take a longer than necessary shower, and thus, still needs his shoes and socks…"

"Tri-is!" He whined in reply.

"Oh stop whining. While Mary was complaining, I managed to get them on my feet, alright? Let's go."

-

-

"Hey, we need to talk to Charles." Rory said as Ken sat next to her in their shared class.

"Uh, why?"

"Tristan… started piecing things together…"

"Oh?" Ken was confused. "Oh!" Realization came quickly though.

"He wants to know what all of this has to do with Charles."

"And did you tell him?"

"No. But he asked me two questions I had to answer for him to drop it… would the truth hurt Terri, and was there a chance of Terri getting hurt by Charles."

"And you answered with?"

"Yes, and I don't know, but will find out."

"Alright. We'll go after school. Finn can take Tristan home."

"Okay."

-

-

The day passed too quickly, yet at the same time too slowly. Tristan didn't question why he was being sent home with Finn while Rory and Ken borrowed his car. The pair made their way to Charles office building.

"How are we supposed to just… barge in?" Rory asked as they climbed out of the car, and stared at the building before them.

"Rory. You do know that my grandfather owns this building, right?"

"Which one?"

"Janlen. Getting into the building isn't a problem."

"What about into his office?"

"My other grandfather owns the business."

"Oh. You've got a lot of connections, huh?"

"Yup."

"Okay, enough stalling. Let's go."

The pair begrudging made their way up to Charles' office. The secretary let them in his office without much of a problem.

"Charles!" Rory said as way of greeting, smiling overly bright at the shocked man.

"Rory, Kenneth. What can I do for you?" He looked nervous. Kenneth closed the door behind them, and took a seat in front of his desk.

"Well, Uncle Charles," Ken's voice dripped with sarcasm, "We have some questions we'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead." A false confidence played on his features.

"Well, we have it from a very, very good source, that you sell drugs, Uncle Charles."

"I…"

"And, that you sold drugs to Ken's best friend. Probably unbeknownst to you, right? Said friend claims to not have known who you were." Rory continued. "And said friend 'lost control of his car' while aiming at 'the dealer' after he gave him powder instead of his drugs."

Ken picked up, "No big deal, except it caused a bigger rift between said friend and I. Now, 'the dealer' was out to dinner with his wife and her sister and her sister's family."

"By the time said friend realized what was going on, he couldn't stop, and ending up killing his best friend's mother, putting his best friend in a coma, and going to juvi for 6 months." Rory finished.

"Now, I would hate to be that dealer. Causing so much grief over the whole situation. Now, I have an uncle, who seems to be petrified of my brother, who recently suffered a mental breakdown, and lost parts of his memory, gaining his memory back. Any thoughts on that?"

"I… it's my fault your mother is dead? He was aiming at me?" The concept seemed bizarre to Charles. He looked overly perplexed.

"Wait, you never thought of that? What the hell are you hiding then?" Ken stood up abruptly, now towering over Charles.

"I… I didn't know about you and Tristan, and the drugs, until my stash went missing. I went to Tristan first, and he told me to fuck off. I told him I'd tell his father, and get him sent to military school. He told me he'd tell Terri where he got them." Charles looked like a scared puppy, shrinking back into his chair, not looking at either of them.

"So, you're afraid that he'll tell Terri if he remembers?" Rory asked, gently pushing Ken back into his seat.

"Yes." Was Charles' automatic response. "I couldn't loose her. My addiction, the dealing. It all started before her. I, I couldn't get out of it. I couldn't stop. But I love her. So much. I can't loose her, please don't tell her."

"Did you stop dealing?" Rory asked.

"Yes."

"Did you stop using?"

"No."

"Well, you have two options. 1. You tell Terri the truth, and you get clean. Or 2. I tell Terri, Terri leaves you, you never see your child, and you find yourself jobless when you get fired." Ken's mouth was hanging open at the strength Rory showed. He half expected her to forgive him like she had Damien.

"I… I'll tell her. Do I have to tell her… everything?" Charles stammered.

"We'll keep the dealing between us. Tell her about the addiction."

"Okay."

"Now, what do we tell Tristan?" Ken asked.

"We tell Tristan that he knows Charles is an addict, and thinks he's a hypocrite. Tris is afraid Charles is going to hurt Terri, or worse. Charles sent Tristan away to cover his own ass. And if Tristan never wants to speak to Charles again, all will be fine with this. You," she pointed to Charles, "will tell Terri that Tristan knew, and that you were afraid of loosing her. That if Tristan hates you, Tristan hates you."

"Okay."

"Alright, bye Charles." Rory smiled brightly again, and stood up, heading towards the door. Ken followed. Rory paused at the door, and threw over her shoulder, "Oh, and Charles? If you don't tell her, and you don't get clean, I will tell Terri the truth. And Tristan. And then nothing in this world will protect you from his wrath." She closed the door behind them.

Charles sat stunned, looking absolutely petrified.

-

-

Rory and Ken entered the apartment quietly, not sure if Tristan was taking a nap or something. Rory headed for Tristan's room, and found him doing homework. "Hey." She called softly.

"So, what's up?" He asked turning to face her.

"Well, we went to see Charles. Seems the stories bigger than we thought. But all you need to know is that you knew Charles was addicted to drugs as well, and every time he threatened you, you threatened to tell Terri. He really does love your aunt, Tris."

"That doesn't matter if he's going to hurt her." Tristan shook his head.

"Same reason you wouldn't date me?"

"Basically." He evaded.

"Well, he promised to tell Terri the truth about his addiction and to get help. If he doesn't I threatened to tell Terri, and to unleash your wrath on him."

"Uh huh." He smirked. "You threatened someone?"

"Ask Ken. His jaw hit the floor."

"I'm sure." He smiled a real smile at her.

"So, are we good now?"

"We're good." He kissed her. "Did I mention I was sorry about that night?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. She really couldn't remember,

"Well, I'm sorry. And I love you."

"I love you, too."

-

-

And so, life was once again on it's axis. But, problems still loom. Ken and Damien aren't speaking again. Is Charles' word any good? And how long can the happy couple live in ignorant bliss again? But, at the moment, Rory and Tristan didn't care. Because right now, they were happy. And the moment was going to slip that easily, yet.


	20. Ch19 Realizing Mistakes is Never Easy

Ooh... damn. 7 months. I am soooo sorry. I keep saying this is almost over and yet it never ends. Ugh. Oh well. I plan on -hopefully- finishing this before I leave for college in the end of August... but I'll be taking my PC with me, and I have internet in my room. -I 3 my school- I will try to finish this soonish though. Anyway, delays can be blamed on both my life, my beta's, and another road block in the story. However, we found a rope and said screw the car. :D I hope ya'll like this, and thank you to everyone who is still reading after two years & six days. It's really short, too. Sorry. :(

**Chapter 19: Realizing Mistakes is Never Easy**

Rory arrived at the DuGrey apartment early to make sure the boys were up and ready for school. Entering with the spare key she had, she was greeted by the site of Kenneth drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning, Rory. How are you this morning?" He asked, his eyes never leaving his paper.

Smiling brightly, she replied, "Very well. Thank you. And yourself?"

"I'd be better if I hadn't been kept up all night listening to my sons fight over video games." He muttered.

"Ah." Rory said softly. "So, chances are they aren't up yet, huh?" Kenneth simply lowered his paper and looked at her. "Silly question. Is Finn here, yet?"

"Never left." He grumbled, before the paper went back into its original position.

Laughing softly, Rory entered the living room and found Finn sprawled out on the floor with a controller as a pillow, where he most likely passed out in the middle of a game. She sat next to Finn on the floor and turned the TV on. As soon as the noise blasted through the speakers, Finn jumped awake.

"Holy hell, Love! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He gasped, now on his back trying to get his heartbeat to even out.

"Why yes, yes I was. Get up. School time." She was already half way down the hall.

Next, she entered Kenny's room. She was trying to figure out what she could do to wake him up the way she had with Finn. She knew the loud noise wouldn't work. A bomb could go off next to his head, and he'd still sleep through it. Tapping her index finger to her chin, an idea came to her as her eyes swept across his room. Grabbing something off his dresser she left for a moment before returning.

Ken sprang awake as Rory blasted him with a water gun. "Shit, Ror. What the hell?"

Once again, she was already out the door as she told him to get up for school.

Rory grinned as she entered Tristan's room. This would be easy. He was sleeping on his back with his arms up by his head. She could see he was clearly having a dream. She walked to his bed and straddled his waist.

"Ugh, Summer…" Rory froze as the name passed between his lips. "Get off. No. I don't want to. Go away." A twisted expression washed over her features as she waited for his dream to play out. "Cause you're not her…You could never be her." Rory smiled slightly. "Cause I love her…"

Finally having heard enough, Rory leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Baby, wake up."

"Wha?" Tristan woke up groggily with a weight on his lower half. "Mary?" He grinned up at her. "If you were that horny, all you had to do was ask." He said, suddenly wide awake.

Climbing off of him, she smirked. "Come on get up."

"Too late." He smirked.

"For _school_ you perv." She laughed.

Teasingly, he replied, "You want to do it at school? Really? I'm all for it, I just never thought you'd…" She cut him off before he could finish.

"Keep it up and you won't be getting any for a while." Tristan's mouth instantly shut as he smiled at her. She began sauntering out of the room when he called her back. "I love you." Was all he said. She smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

15 minutes later all the boys were ready to go. Well, Tristan was attempting to tie his tie and drink coffee at the same time, but never the less.

-

-

School was suddenly very strained. Damien made many attempts to approach Ken, but Tristan kept him at bay. Ken wanted nothing to do with Damien or Madeline. Whenever the girls would come over, Ken would quickly leave. Finally, Maddie asked Rory about it.

"Hey, is there something wrong with Ken today?" she asked, confused by his behavior.

"Uh, yeah. Damien may or may not have told him about that party where you guys hooked up." Rory said, giving her an apologetic look.

Maddie looked genuinely confused. "What party?"

"Were you _that_ wasted, Mads?" Rory asked, incredulously.

"Tristan, what the hell is she talking about?" Madeline asked.

Sighing, Tristan explained what Rory was referring to. Madeline looked like she was going to be sick.

"What's wrong, Mad?" Rory asked, with concern.

"I… I never… Damien told me that Ken was upstairs looking for me. He followed me up to help me find Ken… I never found him until I was coming downstairs again and saw Ken's face. He looked so pissed. Then he was so…gone for the next few weeks. I didn't know he thought… oh my god. I have to find Ken." Madeline took off toward the library, where he was sure to be.

Gritting his teeth, Tristan clenched his fist. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Tris…" Rory warned. "_Relax_. This is Ken's battle. I know you want to help, but… let Ken fix Ken's problems. Okay?" Tristan nodded and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hall to class.

-

-

Madeline sought Ken out, all over the library before she found him. He was tucked away in the farthest corner that only Rory and Paris had ever ventured into. As she approached him, she noticed how his brow was creased in concentration. He seemed to be thinking immensely hard about something. Approaching quietly, she sat in front of him, waiting for him to notice her.

When he did, he let out a small gasp of surprise before letting all emotions run from his face. He appeared calm, collected, careless. Inside he was going crazy. He'd been trying to figure out how he felt toward Maddie since his conversation with Damien.

"Hey." His voice broke the tensed silence.

"Hi." She replied meekly.

Taking a deep breath, he asked casually, "What's up?"

"I…" Words wouldn't come to her at the moment. "I never…" She seemed so torn at the moment. Just from hanging out with her the last few weeks and watching her the last few days, he knew why he'd fallen in love with her at some point. He wasn't sure if those feelings were still there or not though.

"I never slept with him…"

"Sure. And Damien neglected that piece of information? He said he went upstairs with you." With a sudden anger building her, Maddie jumped to her feet.

"He took me upstairs under the pretense of looking for you. He said you were looking for me. I never knew what he was up to. I came to explain everything to you now that I knew the truth, but it doesn't matter. You've already set your mind in its decision." Madeline stormed off out of the library leaving a stunned Ken behind.

After a few moments thinking, he quickly stood up and headed toward the door. He needed to find Damien.

-

-

Tristan and Rory entered the apartment laughing as only lovers can. They were in one of their moments of peace together. However, upon entering they found a sobbing pregnant woman on the couch. Rory instantly ran to her side.

"Terri, calm down. What is it?" Rory soothed. Tristan had been too stunned at the sight to react. The last time he'd seen her like that was when his mother died.

"H-he… drugs… I can't… believe it… I'm so… sorry… Tristan… I…" Tristan finally snapped out of his reverie and sat on the other side of his aunt.

"Shhh. It's okay. Let it out." He cooed to her.

"I… I always wondered… wondered why he… he would get so mad at you. I didn't know. How could I have not known? No wonder he wanted you gone… I'm _so_ _sorry_." She sobbed into Tristan's chest.

"No, Terri. It's not your fault. It's his. It's all, his fault." Rory replied softly rubbing her back. "Is he getting help?"

"I-I don't know. I caught him with it… he didn't come to me about it." Terri mumbled through her tears.

"Shh… I'm sure he'll get help. Now that he knows what it's costing him." Rory replied sadly. She and Tristan shared a look before continuing to comfort the distraught woman in Tristan's arms.

-

-

Later that night, Tristan had just carried Terri into his bedroom with the help of his father when Ken came home. Commenting softly while making up the couch, Tristan remarked, "You look like shit."

"I think I love her." Ken said in such a soft whisper it was almost inaudible.

"That I knew." Tristan laughed quietly.

"I think I may have lost her." Ken said in the same soft whisper.

"Believe me, bro, you never really lose them. No matter how bad it seems. Why don't you tell me what happened?" Tristan asked patting the couch next to him.

"Why are you sleeping on the couch?" Ken asked sitting down.

"Terri's in my bed." Tristan said simply.

"Why?" Ken asked forgetting momentarily about his woes.

Hesitantly, Tristan replied, "Terri found out about the drugs." Ken nodded in understanding. "So, what happened?" Tristan asked, breaking his brother of his current thoughts.

Ken sighed as he reclined backwards, Tristan soon mimicked his position. "Well… Maddie and I argued when she came to find me. Then…I went to find Damien…

"DAMIEN_!" He screamed barging into Damien's home. "You have 30 seconds to get down here before I come find you!"_

"_Dude, where's the fire?" Damien exclaimed coming out of the kitchen._

"_Did you neglect to mention something in your explanation of why I hate you?" Ken seethed._

_Thinking, Damien thought for a moment. "Uhm, no." He seemed truly confused._

"_How about whether or not Maddie slept with you?" Ken asked, quietly through clenched teeth._

_Damien visibly paled at the words. "What about it?"_

"_Did she?" Ken demanded._

"_No." Ken's fist snapped faster than expected. He was sure he may have broken his jaw but he really didn't care._

"_Still only thinking of your self, huh, Dame?" Ken snarled before leaving._

"I left after that. I tried talking to Maddie, but she won't answer her phone, and the maid said she wasn't home. I don't know what to do." Ken said in true anguish.

"It'll come to you. Go get some sleep." Tristan nudged him.

"Nah, you go sleep in my bed. I'm not gonna fall asleep for a while yet. One of us might as well get a good night's rest." Ken said, making himself comfortable on the couch.

"You sure?" Tristan asked, eyeing his brother warily.

"Positive." Ken smiled at his little brother as he walked away. Sometimes he wondered who was the older one.

-

-

Damien entered school the next morning with a considerable bruise on his face. Ken sure had a good right hook. He couldn't believe Ken really hit him. He honestly couldn't say he didn't deserve it though. He was constantly ruining his best friend's life for his own selfishness. He was afraid that if he told Ken the whole truth about how Damien never tried to set the record straight, that Ken would still hate him. It was easier to pretend that he and Maddie had slept together.

"I _hate_ you." The tiny curly-haired brunette whispered in a tone so deathly quiet, Damien felt a chill run through him. As Maddie materialized in front of him, bringing him out of his thoughts, he couldn't help but think of just how many lives he's ruined.

"I'm sor-" He started.

"Save it. I don't care. I was miserable for _months_ because you were selfish. All of this could have easily been avoided if you'd just pulled your head out of your ass and realized your best friend was happy. Why are you so selfish?" She was screaming at him now, tears pouring down her face. "You don't exist to me." With that she walked away, jamming her petite body into his considerably larger one, effectively knocking him off balance a bit.

He watched her walk away as he looked over his shoulder. Once he could no longer see her, he brought his eyes forward again only to lock onto Rory's. There were so many emotions in her eyes toward him alone at that moment. Pity. Anger. Hurt. Disbelief. Confusion. But most of all, shockingly, was indifference. And that was what cut him to the core.

Rory was the first person to forgive him and the only person to truly trust him. She gave him the second chance he craved and the others grudgingly followed suit. He realized now, that he'd thrown it all away by not being honest. Not even by not being honest with her, but by proving the others right. Proving he hadn't changed. He was still making everyone else's lives miserable because he was too selfish to realize it until it was too late. With a dazed look in his eyes, Damien suddenly walked back out of the school, leaving Rory to stare after him in bewilderment.

No one anticipated the seceding events to occur. No one anticipated getting that phone call. No one anticipated being back in that hospital mere hours later. No one anticipated that the person lying in that bed would be none other than Damien.


	21. Ch20 Waking From the Nightmare

Oh my god. I'm so sorry. My beta's been really busy and sick… and I've been waiting two months or so for this. I actually forgot about it. I stopped reading GG fics because all of the good ones got abandoned, and the rest seemed to be just recycled ideas that didn't entertain me anymore. Sorry. This is actually the last chapter. There will be a epilouge when I feel like writing it. More like if, but I promised I would. So, um, yeah. The long awaited _end _of Nightmare.

**Chapter 20: Waking From The Nightmare**

Rory kept a watchful eye all day, waiting to see if Damien would ever reappear. By lunchtime, there was still no sign of him. Cautiously, she broached the subject with the collected group in the library: the girls.

"Hey, uh, has, has anyone seen Damien since this morning?" She edged.

In a very short, clipped voice, Maddie rather uncharacteristically replied, "No." With a certain air of hurt and betrayal in her voice she looked at Rory as if the girl had just declared war against her. "Why do you care? He doesn't deserve anyone caring about him." She was almost snarling.

"I know that. I just… the look in his eyes… after you chewed him out. He looked utterly… lost. I was just worried about another human being." Rory grew defensive in the end. "I know he doesn't deserve it, but I can't help it."

The silence was broken, when Louise, barely whispered, "He used to be our friend." Damien and Louise had gotten to be quite close during the whole 'Ken & Madeline Saga'. Both were often ignored or ditched by the two. Louise fell for him, while Damien was too hung up on losing his best friend to realize that he could have the same thing and still have Ken around.

"Well he's not anymore." Maddie replied forcefully. Louise looked up with tears in her eyes and stared hard at Maddie, yet neither spoke and neither backed down. Finally Paris stepped in.

"Rory's right. He's still a person, regardless of how we feel about him. Maybe Rory and I should go check on him after school." She said decisively, not giving anyone a chance to protest.

Though Maddie seemed upset at having lost the battle, she could see Paris wasn't thrilled at seeing Damien, but knew it was the right thing to do. Just because he was a self-centered, selfish, ass didn't mean they were.

"So, biology today? Brutal." Rory whistled out, effectively changing the subject.

-

-

After school the girls showed up at Damien's house, with Louise in tow. She'd demanded to go with them. The door to his house was slightly ajar, as if it'd been closed in a hurry. The girls were weary of entering, perhaps he'd been robbed? Pushing the door open quietly, and headed in. "Damien?" Louise called out, while the other two smacked her in the arm. She ignored them and pushed forward through the house, heading up the long staircase. She headed into his room and then she screamed.

Lying on his floor, next to his bed, a needle in hand, was Damien.

Louise couldn't move. Her scream was the last sound she'd made for the last 15 minutes. An ambulance would be there any second, Rory and Paris were moving around her getting done what needed, but she couldn't move. She finally blinked as paramedics began to place his body on the stretcher they'd brought up.

"Damien-" She whispered reaching for his hand. "Can I- can I go with him?" She asked the EMT. He shrugged in response.

Paris pulled her to the side for a moment. "Do you think that's a good idea, Lou?"

"Let her Paris. I'd do the same if it was Tristan. She needs to be with him." Rory said softly, as her heart broke for Louise.

"How do you…?" Louise began asking, but Rory shook her head. "Go!" She demanded softly.

As Paris and Rory made their way downstairs, they saw Louise climb into the ambulance just before it pulled off.

"How _do_ you know?" Paris asked.

Rory smirked, "We talked. We were friends, despite everything. He needs her. He just hasn't realized it yet."

"God." Paris moaned slightly. "You're all pairing off before my eyes."

Nudging her as they reached the car, Rory smiled, "Well, there's always Finn…"

"_Die_ Gilmore." Rory stuck her tongue out in childish response.

-

-

"Tristan!" Rory growled into her cell phone. A nurse kept shooting her dirty looks, but she didn't want to go outside. Paris took Louise to the cafeteria to get something to drink and a snack. Anything to preoccupy the girl. She didn't want the doctor to come out and no one be there. "I don't care if you hate him, or Ken's mad at him, or Madeline wants to kill him, or Finn is too drunk to drive your lazy asses!" She hissed. "You and Damien are even. I know he can never make up for killing your mother, but he's done a hell of a job trying. Maddie should be here for Louise, who is a basket case right now. And it may not be their faults, but Ken and Maddie are the reason he's here. I'd be surprised if this was the first time he's tried to kill himself. Whether intentional or not. He has enough guilt. What he needs are friends! I thought you were more decent than this. Love you." She hung up the phone not waiting for a reply. She was done arguing with him. If they were all going to be immature, than so be it.

"Excuse me, are you here for Damien?" An older woman asked Rory gently, now that she was off the phone.

Slightly startled, Rory turned. "Uhm, yes. I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Damien's aunt. Or great-aunt. His grandparents are away on business, they asked me to come until they could get back." Mrs. Vita replied.

"Oh." Rory hadn't much of a clue what to say. "Well, all we know right now is that he probably overdosed on… I actually don't know what he overdosed on."

Sitting down, and beckoning Rory to do the same, Mrs. Vita asked, "Are you the one who found him?"

Rory shrugged. "Sort of. We went to check on him. He disappeared during school and I was worried. Louise is the one that actually found him in his room, with me and Paris not to far behind."

"Well, bless you for being worried. Thank you. I'm glad he's finally got friends again." Rory smiled faintly at the woman, unsure of what to say once more.

Time passed, and before long, a body dropped itself into the seat next to her, wrapped its arm around her, but said nothing. Rory knew it was Tristan, and she knew better than to gloat that he was here or she was right. She saw Maddie and Ken holding hands as they sat across from them.

"Thank you." Rory said quietly, not wanting to make a big deal.

Tristan kissed her head. "He was here when I needed him to be. I wouldn't have you or my brother if not for him. I still don't forgive him for what happened, but I'm willing to live with him."

"If he lives." Rory's voice wavered as the gravity suddenly hit her that once again, one of her friends might be dying.

Tristan sucked in a deep breath. "He will." He said confidently. Silently to himself, he added, 'He has to.'

-

-

When Louise and Paris came back, Louise was cold and distant to Maddie and Ken, but eventually succumbed into Maddie's apologizing and forgiving arms.

The doctor who oversaw Tristan when he was brought in happened to be the same one who treated Damien.

"I'd like to say it's nice to see you kids again, but its not." He cracked a small smile at them. "Your friend will be fine. He needs to rest while we wean the drugs out of his system. The heroine he used was laced with something else. You kids need to stay away from drugs, please." The doctor was pleading with them, though many relieved faces sat in the room, ignoring his lecturing.

"May we see him?" Paris asked, surprise most people. The doctor nodded.

Damien was sitting up when the kids entered the room. He was shocked to see all of them. "Who found me?" He asked.

"We did." Paris answered gesturing to the 'we'. She smacked his arm. "You ever do something stupid like this again and I won't call the ambulance when I find your ass."

"Friends fight, Damien." Madeline said softly. "We don't hate you. We just… you really need help. You've cost all of us a lot. But… we're willing to make amends if you tell us the truth about everything and never keep secrets from us again."

"Or try to break people up." Ken threw in.

"We?" Damien asked, assuming she meant Ken and herself.

Tristan sighed from behind Rory. "We." He confirmed. Rory beamed up at him, grateful.

Now that everyone was done yelling at him, Rory ran over to him. She hugged him tightly. "No more drugs. No more lies. We want our friend back." He nodded and smiled, hugging her back. Slowly but surely, everyone, even Paris, hugged or shook hands with him except for Louise. She'd been sitting in the corner since they entered just staring at him, unable to shake the image of him lying on the floor or in the ambulance from her mind.

Noticing, Rory shooed everyone out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"Lou. Come here." She numbly walked to him, sinking down on the edge of his bed.

She had tears in her eyes and it broke his heart. "I'm sorry." She said laughing off her spell. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's alright. I should be the one saying sorry." Damien said softly.

"Why?" She said shocked, looking him in the eyes.

He sighed. "I pushed you away and pushed you out of my mind. I wanted to forget about you. I knew I lost you once I was sent to juvie."

She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. "You never lost me, Dame."

"I didn't?" He said showing his own shock.

She shook her head no, "Nope."

"So the whole time I've been back…" He started.

Cutting him off she answered his question, "I've been waiting. You were so caught up on Mad and Ken, that you never noticed how I felt about you."

"And when I came back I wanted to forget you because I thought I'd never get you back." He laughed. "God am I an idiot." Sighing he asked, "Why couldn't I see what was in front of me the whole time? None of this would have happened if I had!"

"Don't worry about it, now. We're all starting over. Even you and me." To emphasize her point, Louise stuck out her hand. "Hi. I'm Louise. I'm Maddie's best friend. Looks like you got ditched, too."

Laughing at her, he replied, "Damien." Though he remembered this conversation, he opted to change it. "And I don't see it as getting ditched, I see it as getting a chance to talk to you." Louise smiled at him.

"Knock knock." Rory said poking her head in and knocking on the door. "Time to go, Louise. Bye, Damien. We'll be back tomorrow." She closed the door letting them say goodbye. Louise emerged a few moments later, looking happily dazed.

-

-

Rory and Tristan entered his apartment alone. Ken was staying with Madeline tonight. Rory felt like she was practically living with him now. She didn't really ask permission so much as she simply told her mother where she was. Lorelai didn't seem to mind too much either.

"Where's your dad?" She asked softly, noting that his door was open and the apartment was quiet.

"He's been staying with Terri. He's worried about her. They've always been pretty close." He started pulling off his shirt and wife beater as she unbuttoned her Chilton blouse.

"That's good. She should have someone staying with her with Charles not there." Tristan tossed her a t-shirt while pulling out a pair of sleep pants. She took off her bra and slipped the shirt on as he discarded his boxers, sliding into the pants.

It wasn't until Rory pulled back the covers for them and climbed into bed that Tristan realized something. "We're doing it at night now, too." he smirked as she smiled.

"Well, if you don't like sleeping with me…" Rory attempted to climb out of bed, before Tristan caught her and pulled her back against him.

"Nonsense. I love sleeping with you. You chase away my nightmares." He whispered, nuzzling her hair.

"Corny, much?" She smiled sweetly at him as they lay down.

Looking at her with pure sincerity in his words, he said, "Seriously. I don't know how I would've made it through all of this without you."

"Just think someday you can make it up to me." He grinned down at her.

"I promise." He whispered into her hair as she fell asleep, with him not too far behind.

-

-

Waking up the next day was like waking up from a nightmare. Where you've never been more grateful to be awake, and to embrace the day. To realize your fears are behind you and no longer affecting you. Everyone moved on with there lives from that morning on. The nightmare had finally ended.


End file.
